Optas LLC Raises Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Optas LLC increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 64.0% during the 2nd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 197.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.54.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 2.4 %

NEE stock opened at $77.35 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.77. The firm has a market cap of $159.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.57.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. NextEra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 60.95%.

NextEra Energy 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.