Westpac Banking Corp Has $2.10 Million Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,150 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Second Line Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.7% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 8,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 15,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 34,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on NEE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $72.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $148.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.77 and its 200-day moving average is $74.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.31 and a 1-year high of $86.10.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Company 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.