Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New Investment in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 137,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,851,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth $33,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $72.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.77. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.44 and a 12-month high of $86.10.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NEE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

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.