Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $7.54 Million Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 124,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,299,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 35,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 383,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,995,000 after purchasing an additional 6,325 shares during the period. Asio Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $2,701,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.3% in the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,039,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,494,934. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.15 and a 52 week high of $79.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.51.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.00% and a return on equity of 11.73%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 57.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on NEE. Barclays started coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

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,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.