Estabrook Capital Management Decreases Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Estabrook Capital Management cut its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 378 shares during the quarter. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $3,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:NEE opened at $64.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.31 and a 1-year high of $86.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

NextEra Energy 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.