BankPlus Trust Department Invests $1.89 Million in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 26,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525,436 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $130,714,000 after purchasing an additional 41,328 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,098,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $515,481,000 after buying an additional 21,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,964,000 after acquiring an additional 27,340 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $71.74 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.55. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.95 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NEE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note 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 research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.85.

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.