Impax Asset Management Group plc Increases Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 15.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,156 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NEE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,484,197,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $244,169,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $240,269,000. Amundi grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,543,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $676,008,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,405 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 7,910,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517,369 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NEE shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $1,657,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 196,817 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,190. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $73.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $70.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.15. The company has a market cap of $151.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.67. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.55.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.02%.

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.