SFE Investment Counsel Has $6.65 Million Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

SFE Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,665 shares during the period. NextEra Energy accounts for about 1.7% of SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $6,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 35,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 383,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,995,000 after purchasing an additional 6,325 shares during the period. Asio Capital LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,701,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 7.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NEE traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $64.20. The company had a trading volume of 6,565,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,798,856. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.15 and a 12 month high of $79.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $131.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.39.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. The firm 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 57.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays began coverage on NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned 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 $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.