Sabal Trust CO Reduces Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Sabal Trust CO cut its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 348,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,121 shares during the period. NextEra Energy makes up approximately 1.4% of Sabal Trust CO’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $25,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NEE. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 299,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,293,000 after buying an additional 5,409 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 60.6% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 3.8% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 342,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,973,000 after purchasing an additional 12,562 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Orrstown Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on NEE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.85.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $71.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $146.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.46 and a 200-day moving average of $76.46. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $53.95 and a one year high of $86.10.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.5665 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is 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.