Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 17,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,373,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sageworth Trust Co grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1,794.1% in the first quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth $31,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth $32,000. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Portland Hill Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NEE opened at $69.29 on Friday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $65.36 and a one year high of $88.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $140.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.43.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.07. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 30th will be paid a $0.4675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 29th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NEE. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James Lawrence Camaren acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $271,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kirk S. Hachigian acquired 10,000 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.95 per share, with a total value of $679,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,019,250. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director James Lawrence Camaren bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.85 per share, for a total transaction of $271,400.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $542,800. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy 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, coal, and natural gas facilities. 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.