Proficio Capital Partners LLC Increases Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 13,375.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 946,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 939,209 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $67,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its position in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $69.52 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.37. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NEE. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.