NextEra Energy's Florida Power & Light subsidiary serves much of Florida,
including Miami.
Photo: Freeimages.com/Megan Williamson

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy generates, distributes and sells electricity to customers in 27 states and Canada. The bulk of the company’s customers are in Florida, served by subsidiary Florida Power & Light Company. In addition to Florida Power & Light, NextEra Energy operates subsidiaries that generate renewable energy, provide electricity service to locations in Texas and New Hampshire, and sell fiber optic telecommunications services around the United States. NextEra Energy employs nearly 14,000 people and is headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida.

Nearly 5 million customers are served by Florida Power & Light, which has 25,100 megawatts (MW) of electrical generation capacity. Over 90% of the FPL’s capacity comes from natural gas and nuclear power. Based on 2014 figures (the latest year that’s available), over half of the operating revenues come from residential accounts and another 36% come from commercial accounts. While wholesale revenues account for only 3% of the total, as recently as 2012 wholesale revenues were negligible. NextEra Energy prides itself on using renewable power generation sources and its promotional materials tout this effort; however, FPL’s two solar generation facilities provide only 35 MW of capacity.

NextEra Energy’s other major subsidiary is NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc., which owns NextEra Energy Resources (NEE Resources), and NextEra Energy Transmission, LLC (NEET).

NEE Resources is a wholesale generator of power and operates NextEra Energy’s competitive energy businesses (as opposed to its rate-regulated businesses). NEE Resources also conducts energy-related commodity marketing and trading activities to mitigate risks from fluctuations in energy prices. NEET owns and operates two subsidiaries, Lone Star and NHT, which provide rate regulated electricity service in parts of Texas and New Hampshire, respectively. NEET also owns FPL FiberNet, which leases internet network capacity to customers in Texas, New Hampshire and parts of the south-central United States.

The company is a member of the S&P 500 index and trades under the ticker symbol NEE.

As a member of the S&P 500, once NextEra Energy has increased dividends for 25 consecutive years S&P will classify the company as an S&P Dividend Aristocrat. Given that NextEra has made a conscious effort to increase the dividend each year for 21 years straight, I expect them to continue to do so. This would put them on track to become a Dividend Aristocrat at the beginning of 2020.

NextEra Energy’s Dividend and Stock Split History

NextEra Energy has paid dividends since at least 1983 and increased them since 1995. The company announces annual dividend increases in mid-February, with the stock going ex-dividend at the end of February.

NextEra Energy has compounded its payout at an average rate of 11.0% over the last 5 years and 9.6% over the last 10 years.

NextEra Energy has split its stock twice. The splits, both 2-for-1, occurred in January 1985 and March 2005. A single share purchased prior to January 1985 would have split into 4 shares.

NextEra Energy’s Direct Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plans

NextEra Energy has both direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans. You must already be an investor in NextEra Energy to participate in the plans; if you own the stock in your brokerage account, you’ll have to have it transferred into your name in order to join the plans. The minimum investment for additional direct purchases is $100, and the dividend reinvestment plan allows for full or partial reinvestment of dividends.

The plans’ fees structures are favorable for investors. Depending on the source of the shares purchased – and, unfortunately, you’ll have no control over that – you’ll pay a maximum of 3 cents per share purchased if they’re purchased off the open market; there’s no charge if the shares are purchased directly from NextEra Energy. When you sell your shares, you’ll pay a transaction fee of either $15 or $25 (depending on the type of sell order) plus a commission of 12 cents per share. You’ll also get charged an additional $15 if you go through a phone agent to sell your shares. All fees will be deducted from the sales proceeds.

Helpful Links

NextEra Energy’s Investor Relations Website

Current quote and financial summary for NextEra Energy (finviz.com)

Information on the direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans for NextEra Energy