On September 10, 2023, it was reported that Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC had increased its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 6.4% during the first quarter of the year. According to the company’s most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 109,914 shares of NextEra Energy’s stock, with an additional 6,579 shares purchased during the quarter. This brings their total holdings in NextEra Energy to a value of $8,472,000 as of the SEC filing.
NextEra Energy has recently attracted attention from equities analysts who have weighed in on its prospects. Royal Bank of Canada lowered its price objective for NextEra Energy shares from $90.00 to $89.00 and maintained an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report released on Wednesday. Similarly, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target for NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $80.00 while maintaining an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report issued on August 30th.
Other analysts’ reports include StockNews.com initiating coverage on NextEra Energy shares with a “hold” rating on August 17th and Guggenheim lowering their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report released on July 7th.
The Goldman Sachs Group also began covering NextEra Energy in a research report published on June 7th where they rated it as a “buy” with a price target of $90.00 per share.
Overall, Bloomberg data suggests that there is consensus among analysts that NextEra Energy warrants consideration for investment with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $87.90.
As of mid-day trading on September 10, 2023, NextEra Energy’s stock traded at $66.83, a change of $0.58 during that day. The stock had a trading volume of 7,485,845 shares compared to its average volume of 7,905,471 shares. NextEra Energy has a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Additionally, the company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.
Over the past year, NextEra Energy’s stock has experienced a range between $65.36 and $90.98 per share. With a market capitalization of $135.24 billion and a P/E ratio of 16.54, the company remains an influential player in the utilities sector.
This information is valuable for investors and analysts who closely follow NextEra Energy’s performance in the market as they assess its potential growth and evaluate investment strategies moving forward.
[bs_slider_forecast ticker=”SPR”]
NextEra Energy: Changes in Investor Base, Insider Activities, and Positive Earnings Propel Growth in the Utilities Industry
NextEra Energy, a leading utilities provider, has recently seen some significant changes in its investor base. Sageworth Trust Co, for instance, raised its position in NextEra Energy by a staggering 1,794.1% during the first quarter of this year. This increase in holdings amounted to an additional 305 shares, bringing Sageworth Trust Co’s total ownership to 322 shares valued at $25,000. Similarly, Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in NextEra Energy worth about $31,000 during the same period.
Magellan Asset Management Ltd and Ahrens Investment Partners LLC also entered the fray as new investors in NextEra Energy during the first quarter with positions valued at approximately $32,000 and $35,000 respectively. Even Portland Hill Asset Management Ltd joined the bandwagon by buying shares worth about $39,000 in the fourth quarter of last year. It is worth mentioning that institutional investors now own 76.48% of NextEra Energy’s stock.
In other news related to NextEra Energy, Executive Vice President Robert Coffey sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock on June 14th at an average price of $74.90 per share – amounting to a total value of $299,600. Following this transaction, Coffey now holds 11,292 shares directly in the company with an estimated value of around $845,770.80.
Meanwhile, CEO John W. Ketchum made headlines by purchasing 13,600 shares of NextEra Energy stock on June 14th for an average price of $74.26 per share – totaling $1,009,936. After this acquisition, Ketchum holds approximately 184,485 shares directly in the company valued at approximately $13,699╱85610.
It is interesting to note that insider activities have witnessed multiple purchases of NextEra Energy stock in the last three months, amounting to a total of 27,600 shares worth approximately $1,960,836. The percentage of shares owned by corporate insiders now stands at 0.38% of the company’s total stock.
Financial analysts have also weighed in on NextEra Energy’s prospects. Royal Bank of Canada lowered its price target for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 and assigned an “outperform” rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co., on the other hand, revised its price target from $85.00 to $80.00 and labeled the stock as “overweight.” The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on NextEra Energy with a “buy” rating and a price target of $90.00 per share.
NextEra Energy recently disclosed its quarterly earnings results for July 25th, reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.88 for the quarter – surpassing analysts’ consensus estimates by $0.07. The company achieved a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 12.25%. Furthermore, NextEra Energy recorded revenue amounting to $7.35 billion for the quarter as opposed to the estimated $6.68 billion.
In terms of dividends, NextEra Energy announced a quarterly dividend payment scheduled for September 15th this year. Stockholders listed as owners before August 30th will receive a dividend payout of $0.4675 per share (annualized basis), offering a dividend yield of 2.80%. At present, NextEra Energy has a payout ratio of approximately 46.29%.
Overall, with its recent changes in investor holdings, insider activities, positive earnings results, and favorable ratings from analysts along with its solid dividend offerings, NextEra Energy continues to make waves in the utilities industry as it heads towards the end of 2023.
