Argent Trust Co Trims Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Argent Trust Co cut its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 202,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 485 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $14,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NEE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,178,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $579,097,000 after buying an additional 691,341 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 22.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,961,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $443,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268,900 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,631,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $402,774,000 after acquiring an additional 629,032 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in NextEra Energy by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,100,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,966,000 after purchasing an additional 409,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 5,981,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $423,568,000 after purchasing an additional 388,149 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

NEE opened at $84.97 on Wednesday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.15 and a 1 year high of $85.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $174.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NEE. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total transaction of $50,646.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,697. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.