Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Purchases 58,977 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 72.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 140,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 58,977 shares during the period. NextEra Energy makes up approximately 5.9% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $11,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after buying an additional 2,767 shares in the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its position in NextEra Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 506,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,162,000 after acquiring an additional 8,565 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 8.4% in the second quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 68,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,709,000 after acquiring an additional 5,261 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 171.1% in the second quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 7,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 25,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 7,401 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NEE shares. HSBC raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.56.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $80.85 on Friday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.72 and a 12 month high of $87.53. The company has a market cap of $168.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.09. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.72% and a return on equity of 12.42%. The business had revenue of $7.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. NextEra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 11,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $906,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 167,481 shares in the company, valued at $13,398,480. The trade was a 6.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark Lemasney sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total value of $63,365.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,098.30. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,322 shares of company stock valued at $13,148,943. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.