NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Shares Bought by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 261,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,785 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $15,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $2,774,845,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 66,613.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,263,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,530,055,000 after purchasing an additional 30,218,452 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $141,817,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,784,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $337,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148,205 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 7,999.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,173,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146,625 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NextEra Energy stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $64.01. 10,132,723 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,850,947. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $131.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.51. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $47.15 and a one year high of $79.78.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 26.00%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 57.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NEE shares. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays started coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.36.

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.