Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Increases Stake in NextEra Energy

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS has boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, as indicated by their recent filing with the SEC. After purchasing an additional 20,722 shares during the quarter, the fund now possesses a total of 3,480,505 shares in the utility provider.

NextEra Energy accounts for 1.6% of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's overall investment portfolio, positioning it as the seventh largest position within their holdings. As per the latest SEC disclosure, this amount reflects an estimated value of approximately $249,517,000 in NextEra Energy stock.

Additionally, several other institutional investors have made adjustments to their positions in NEE. For instance, Burkett Financial Services LLC has significantly increased its stake by 1,229.6% during the fourth quarter, now owning 359 shares valued at $26,000 after acquiring an extra 332 shares in the process. Furthermore, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC entered the market with a new investment in NextEra Energy worth about $28,000, while Quarry LP also acquired a new position in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC invested around $36,000 in the fourth quarter as well. Lastly, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by an astounding 2,482.6% during the third quarter, with their current ownership reflecting 594 shares worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares.

Institutions and hedge funds collectively hold about 78.72% of NextEra Energy's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Provide Insights

Various brokerages have recently updated their viewpoints on NEE. Specifically, Evercore ISI recently lowered their price target for NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00, maintaining an "in-line" rating on the stock as of January 27th. Similarly, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price from $81.00 to $77.00 on that same date. In contrast, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target from $90.00 to $91.00, giving NextEra an "overweight" rating as of March 11th. Morgan Stanley also raised their target from $93.00 to $94.00 and assigned an "overweight" rating in a January 23rd research note. Finally, Scotiabank increased its price target from $92.00 to $96.00 while rating the stock as "sector outperform" on December 12th.

Currently, eight research analysts have rated NextEra Energy with a hold recommendation while seven have assigned it a buy rating, leading to an average consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $85.92, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Current Stock Performance

As of Thursday, NextEra Energy's stock (NEE) opened at $70.47. The company has recorded a 52-week low of $61.29 and a 52-week high of $86.10. Current ratios indicate a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company’s market capitalization stands at approximately $144.96 billion, and it has a P/E ratio of 20.91 alongside a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy's most recent quarterly earnings, reported on January 24th, showed earnings per share (EPS) of $0.53, matching analysts' consensus expectations. The company achieved a return on equity of 11.85% and reported a net margin of 28.06%. Analysts project that NextEra Energy will reach earnings per share of 3.68 this fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

NextEra Energy has also announced a recent quarterly dividend, disbursed on March 17th to shareholders recorded as of February 28th. Shareholders received a dividend of $0.5665, marking an annualized dividend of $2.27 and a yield of 3.22%. This reflects an increase from the prior quarterly dividend of $0.52, bringing the current dividend payout ratio (DPR) to 67.06%.

Insider Trading Activities

In related news, chief accounting officer James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock on February 18th at an average price of $68.09, generating a total of $162,258.47 from the transaction. Following this sale, he retains ownership of 27,427 shares, valued at around $1,867,504.43. This sale represents a 7.99% reduction in his stake, and the transaction has been filed with the SEC for public records. Corporate insiders currently own only about 0.18% of the company's stock.

Company Overview

NextEra Energy, Inc. is a leading utility company in North America, engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric power to both retail and wholesale customers. The company specializes in renewable energy sources, generating electricity through wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, and other clean energy resources. Additionally, NextEra Energy involves itself in developing and operating long-term contracted assets that include renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission systems.

Pennsylvania, Investment, Stock