Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Has $859,000 Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,839 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Country Trust Bank raised its position in NextEra Energy by 975.6% during the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its position in NextEra Energy by 59.8% during the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on NEE shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.46.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NEE traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $61.43. 13,828,816 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,038,108. The company has a market cap of $126.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $57.70 and its 200-day moving average is $58.62. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.15 and a 52 week high of $79.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.55.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 26.00%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.06%.

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.