Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 58,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $4,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 64.0% in the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 197.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.85.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $76.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.76. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.57.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 60.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. The trade was a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.