Leavell Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $1,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 60,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,871,000 after purchasing an additional 10,732 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 89.2% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after buying an additional 9,324 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,115,000 after acquiring an additional 2,432 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 54,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,453,000 after acquiring an additional 3,892 shares during the period. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 18,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE:NEE opened at $76.97 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.81 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.11. The company has a market capitalization of $158.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.57.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The firm had revenue of $7.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. NextEra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Dbs Bank downgraded NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.