10 Best Utility Dividend Stocks To Buy

3. NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) is a leading North American electric utility company. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to both residential and commercial customers across the continent. With a substantial generating capacity of approximately 33,276 megawatts, NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) serves millions of customers in Florida and other regions.

NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE:NEE) has a strong track record of dividend growth, increasing its dividend by around 10% annually over the past decade. The management is confident that the company’s high dividend growth will continue through at least 2026. This forecast is supported by projected earnings growth of 6% to 8% per year.

In Q2 2024, NextEra Energy, Inc. exceeded earnings expectations, reporting an EPS of $0.96 compared to the projected $0.953. The company continues to make strategic capital investments in low-cost solar generation and battery storage. These efforts, along with ongoing generation modernization projects, have helped reduce overall fuel costs. Since 2001, these initiatives have saved customers nearly $16 billion.

Here’s what ClearBridge Investments said about NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“AI-related momentum was a key driver of performance in the second quarter, lifting the enablers in technology as well as holdings like renewable power producer NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) that supply the increasing energy needs of data centers. Parts of the market lacking an AI connection, like our medical device holdings, underperformed despite no change to fundamentals. We have managed through several similar momentum periods over our tenure and have delivered long-term results for shareholders by staying true to an approach that emphasizes diversification across three buckets of growth companies (select, stable, and cyclical) and seeks to take advantage of attractive entry points into quality growth businesses.”