Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lessened its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,243,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 116,273 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy comprises 1.9% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $160,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 205,297,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,717,758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,538 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,484,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 42,418,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,571,650,000 after buying an additional 820,704 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,523,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,041,210,000 after purchasing an additional 588,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in NextEra Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,630,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $977,191,000 after buying an additional 345,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $70.08 on Friday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.31 and a one year high of $86.10. The company has a market cap of $144.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. On average, research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS 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 given a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NEE. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.