Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Buys 2,839 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 25.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,839 shares during the quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Country Trust Bank grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 975.6% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

NEE stock traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.43. 13,828,816 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,038,108. The stock has a market cap of $126.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.15 and a fifty-two week high of $79.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.62.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 26.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 57.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Citigroup initiated coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Friday, December 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.46.

About NextEra Energy

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.