Abbrea Capital LLC Trims Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Abbrea Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,726 shares during the quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $3,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 59.8% during the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE traded down $0.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.99. 9,663,095 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,908,358. The company has a market cap of $135.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.94. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.15 and a 1 year high of $78.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.11. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. NextEra Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NEE. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.50.

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.