Sandy Spring Bank Purchases 6,245 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 193,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,245 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $13,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Second Line Capital LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 8,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 15,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 34,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,889,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $70.47 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.29 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.66. The company has a market cap of $144.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.