Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Acquires 18,595 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,595 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $7,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter worth $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $91.44 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $190.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79 and a beta of 0.75. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.72 and a 52 week high of $95.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.49 and a 200-day moving average of $84.36.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.93% and a return on equity of 12.18%. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. NextEra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.6232 dividend. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 75.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,675,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,870. This represents a 65.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Terrell Kirk Crews II sold 19,672 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.27, for a total transaction of $1,775,791.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 73,857 shares in the company, valued at $6,667,071.39. This trade represents a 21.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,816 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,619. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NEE shares. Seaport Research Partners reduced their price target on NextEra Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.44.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company’s principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra’s activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.