Washington Trust Bank Sells 85,786 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Washington Trust Bank cut its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 90.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 85,786 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 387.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 315.4% during the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NEE traded down $4.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $72.70. 22,778,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,754,617. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.79 and its 200-day moving average is $63.20. The firm has a market cap of $149.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.56. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.15 and a twelve month high of $80.47.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their price target on NextEra Energy from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Mizuho increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised NextEra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.50.

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.