Aspire Private Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,073 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NEE. Greenfield Savings Bank lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 32,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. MKT Advisors LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 6,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 3.9% during the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 4,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Financial increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 8,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock traded up $1.01 on Monday, hitting $65.31. The stock had a trading volume of 14,744,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,908,980. The stock has a market cap of $134.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.15 and a 52-week high of $79.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $59.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.61.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.93.

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.