Ledyard National Bank Buys 1,941 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Ledyard National Bank raised its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 315.4% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 2.2 %

NEE traded up $1.43 during trading on Monday, reaching $67.42. 9,713,221 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,887,858. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $47.15 and a one year high of $78.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.51.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 11.72%. NextEra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 56.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on NEE shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of NextEra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

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.