Ballast Inc. Grows Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Ballast Inc. grew its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Country Trust Bank grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 975.6% in the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 124.1% in the first quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 59.8% in the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NEE stock opened at $63.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $131.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.62. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.15 and a 1-year high of $79.78.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 26.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.515 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com downgraded NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.46.

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.