Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Has $807,000 Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,105 shares during the quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its position in NextEra Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 35,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 383,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,995,000 after purchasing an additional 6,325 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $2,701,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $64.30. 13,419,416 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,694,062. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.15 and a 12 month high of $79.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.51.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.00% and a return on equity of 11.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NEE shares. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com downgraded NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays assumed coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.36.

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.