Empirical Finance LLC Acquires 1,509 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 69,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $5,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 34.0% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 115,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,358,000 after buying an additional 29,189 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 633.5% in the 1st quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 49,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,174,000 after acquiring an additional 42,899 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 5.8% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 29,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.4% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 27,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 4,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the first quarter valued at about $303,065,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $75.33 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.36. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The stock has a market cap of $154.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. NextEra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. This represents a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.54.

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.