NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) is Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,981,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 388,149 shares during the period. NextEra Energy comprises 2.4% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $423,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $2,561,055,000. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter valued at $303,065,000. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 8,447.5% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,735,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 400.7% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,812,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $179,728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250,500 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 57.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,957,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $421,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,437 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total value of $50,646.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,697. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

NEE stock opened at $82.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.15 and a fifty-two week high of $82.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.84. The stock has a market cap of $169.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NEE shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mizuho downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

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.