AMG National Trust Bank Increases Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

AMG National Trust Bank lifted its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 41.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,883 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $5,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 387.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 315.4% in the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total transaction of $50,646.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,697. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.66. The stock had a trading volume of 5,052,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,233,079. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $163.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.54. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.15 and a 52-week high of $80.56.

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

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 56.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NEE shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

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.