Trust Co. of Vermont Buys 10,312 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 377,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,312 shares during the period. NextEra Energy accounts for about 1.3% of Trust Co. of Vermont’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $27,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CGN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 263,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 5,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 195,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,047,000 after purchasing an additional 11,319 shares during the period. Finally, Spring Capital Management LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Spring Capital Management LLC now owns 79,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,666,000 after purchasing an additional 6,736 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.15.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NextEra Energy stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.83. The stock had a trading volume of 12,662,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,419,646. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.16. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The stock has a market cap of $145.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.58. 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 (NYSE:NEE) last posted 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 return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. The company 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 company earned $0.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.