Eastern Bank Reduces Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Eastern Bank cut its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 833,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 72,340 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy accounts for 1.1% of Eastern Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Eastern Bank’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $62,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 212,877,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,777,923,000 after buying an additional 5,554,603 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,724,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,161,774,000 after acquiring an additional 526,996 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter worth about $2,375,545,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,786,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,165,896,000 after purchasing an additional 340,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,414,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,139,467,000 after purchasing an additional 408,198 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Argus set a $90.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.72.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.7%

NEE stock opened at $81.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $170.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 2.51 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 24.72%.The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were given 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 71.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In related news, CEO Armando Pimentel, Jr. sold 145,140 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $12,178,697.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 162,693 shares in the company, valued at $13,651,569.63. This trade represents a 47.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.