With shares of NextEra Energy (NEE 0.54%) zooming in recent weeks to touch all-time highs in early September, the company is doing what hot stocks Apple and Tesla recently did: go for a stock split.
NextEra Energy's board of directors has approved a 4-for-1 stock split in a bid to "make stock ownership more accessible to a broader base of investors." With a stock split lowering the absolute price of each share, more investors could find the stock affordable.
With NextEra fixing the record date as Oct. 19, 2020, a 4-for-1 stock split would mean you'll get 3 additional shares for each share you own on the record date. So if you hold 50 shares on Oct. 19, you'll own 200 shares once they're distributed to shareholder accounts on Oct. 26.
At the same time, the stock price will reduce accordingly. So NextEra stock trading at $296 will trade at $74 post-split. Effectively, your investment's value will remain the same.
A stock split, however, isn't the only noteworthy update from NextEra. It also bumped up its guidance through 2023, the first time that the renewable energy company is issuing guidance for 2023.
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NextEra raised its guidance range by $0.20 per share and now expects adjusted earnings of $9.60 to $10.15 per share in 2021, buoyed by a favorable renewable energy market. That would translate into earnings of $2.40 to $2.54 a share on a split-adjusted basis. The outlook represents strong growth over the company's projected post-split 2020 adjusted EPS of $2.18 to $2.30 per share.
"The market for low-cost renewables continues to rapidly expand, and we believe our best-in-class development skills leave us uniquely positioned to capitalize on these significant investment opportunities," said CEO Jim Robo.
Furthermore, NextEra expects earnings in 2022 and 2023 to grow by 6% to 8% off its projected 2021 adjusted EPS. Management is confident of hitting the top end of its guidance range in each of the three years while maintaining strong credit rating and delivering value to shareholders.
NextEra's latest growth goals are great news for income investors since any earnings growth should be followed with dividend increases -- a policy that the company has diligently followed for years. Between 2004 and 2019, NextEra's adjusted EPS grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4% while dividends grew at a CAGR of 9.4%.
