Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 3,438 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 74,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,438 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $5,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,431,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 45,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,281,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 120,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,658,000 after acquiring an additional 10,842 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 45.2% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $68.24 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. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The company has a market cap of $140.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $71.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.98.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.85.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

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