Essential Planning LLC. Makes New Investment in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 51,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth $33,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE NEE opened at $73.03 on Thursday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.88 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $150.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.95.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. As a group, research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. This is an increase 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 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NEE. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

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.