Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $8.57 Million Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,983 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $8,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NEE. Norway Savings Bank increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 15,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 5.8% during the second quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 70,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,197,000 after buying an additional 3,847 shares during the period. Baker Boyer National Bank bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the second quarter worth about $294,000. CRA Financial Services LLC raised its position in NextEra Energy by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 30,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,294,000 after buying an additional 4,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 369,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,383,000 after acquiring an additional 24,350 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, Director James Lawrence Camaren purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $271,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $542,800. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kirk S. Hachigian purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.95 per share, for a total transaction of $679,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,019,250. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Lawrence Camaren bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.85 per share, for a total transaction of $271,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $542,800. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NEE traded down $0.64 on Friday, hitting $68.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,391,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,218,203. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $65.36 and a one year high of $88.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.47.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 30.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.4675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 29th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NEE shares. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

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, coal, and natural gas facilities. 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.