KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $51.98 Million in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 725,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,983,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NEE. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 299,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,293,000 after buying an additional 5,409 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at $406,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $183,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,055,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,382,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $70.92 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.56. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.30 and a one year high of $86.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. As a group, research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEE has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

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.