NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,609,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 313,434 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of NextEra Energy worth $158,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greenfield Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 32,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 22.7% during 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 holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 6,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 4,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 8,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 2.3 %

NextEra Energy stock traded up $1.53 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.84. The company had a trading volume of 6,924,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,843,248. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.15 and a 12-month high of $79.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.55.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.11. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.00% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. NextEra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 57.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NEE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.