Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Acquires 9,866 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,866 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $9,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $74.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $153.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.00 and its 200 day moving average is $70.52. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99. The company 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 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 84.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy 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 value of $1,657,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 196,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,190. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

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.