Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 837 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 64.0% during the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 197.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth about $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NEE opened at $76.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $158.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.57. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.81 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. NextEra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 60.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.54.

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.