Meeder Asset Management Inc. Invests $374,000 in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $374,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 64.0% in the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 197.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the third quarter worth about $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.54.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:NEE opened at $77.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.57. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.33 and a 200-day moving average of $77.65.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. The firm had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 60.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $302,808.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.