NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE Shares Sold by Covea Finance

Covea Finance reduced its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 101,662 shares during the period. Covea Finance’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $8,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,767 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 8,565 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,261 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 7,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 41.8% in the first quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 25,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 7,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $80.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.21. The company has a market cap of $166.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.74. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $87.53.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.09. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 24.72%.The firm had revenue of $7.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Armando Pimentel, Jr. sold 145,140 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $12,178,697.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 162,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,651,569.63. This trade represents a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 11,336 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $906,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,398,480. The trade was a 6.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NEE. Mizuho raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group set a $91.00 target price on NextEra Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.56.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company’s principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra’s activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.