Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 47,548 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 228,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,548 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $16,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $67.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.02 and its 200 day moving average is $72.20. The company has a market capitalization of $138.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. 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 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.99. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. The company had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. NextEra Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 84.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of NextEra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.