Howard Financial Services LTD. Takes Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Howard Financial Services LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $303,065,000. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 8,447.5% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,735,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703,200 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 400.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,812,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $179,728,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250,500 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 57.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,957,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $421,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 962.8% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 1,514,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371,982 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total transaction of $50,646.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,697. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $79.89 on Wednesday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.52 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.51. The stock has a market cap of $164.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The firm had revenue of $6.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.07.

About NextEra Energy

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.