HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Buys New Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 305,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,801,000. NextEra Energy comprises approximately 3.0% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 64.0% in the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 197.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $77.06 on Tuesday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $158.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. The trade was a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NEE shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.85.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear,natural gas, and other clean energy. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets.