Wedbush Securities Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 57,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,247 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $4,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This trade 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 can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $66.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $70.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.73. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.31 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NEE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

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.