Wesbanco Bank Inc. Boosts Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 318,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,725 shares during the period. NextEra Energy comprises approximately 0.8% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $22,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 205,297,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,717,758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,538 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $3,484,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,778,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,129,132,000 after buying an additional 1,359,268 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,090,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,655,353,000 after buying an additional 2,030,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,523,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,041,210,000 after buying an additional 588,038 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $1,657,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 196,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,190. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NEE shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.50.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $72.16 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.72 and a 12-month high of $86.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.68.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 84.64%.

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.