Independence Bank of Kentucky Sells 946 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 1.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 48,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 946 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy accounts for approximately 0.9% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $3,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 3.8% during the second quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 3,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Renasant Bank increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.0% during the first quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 14,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.8% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 64.0% during the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 15,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,697. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE traded up $0.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.66. 5,052,935 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,233,079. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $163.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.54. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.15 and a 1 year high of $80.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.75.

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

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.13%.

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.