Avestar Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Avestar Capital LLC reduced its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 64.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 197.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the third quarter valued at $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $77.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $159.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.57. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. NextEra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NEE. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Guggenheim increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.85.

NextEra Energy Company 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.