Heritage Investors Management Corp Buys 2,651 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Heritage Investors Management Corp increased its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $12,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NEE. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.85.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $70.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $145.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.47 and a 200 day moving average of $76.42. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $53.95 and a one year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

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.