South Dakota Investment Council Raises Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

South Dakota Investment Council raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $3,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NEE. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $66.56 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.47 and a 200 day moving average of $58.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.51. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.15 and a 12-month high of $79.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 56.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.21.

NextEra Energy Company 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.