NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,982,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 543,437 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.45% of NRG Energy worth $1,446,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 8.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,401,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $92,502,000 after acquiring an additional 197,122 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 105.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,346,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,642,000 after purchasing an additional 689,941 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 91.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,318,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,770,000 after purchasing an additional 629,993 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 3,477.2% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 976,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,618,000 after purchasing an additional 949,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 139.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 913,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,178,000 after buying an additional 532,320 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $79.92 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61. The stock has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.07. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.94 and a twelve month high of $87.58.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $7.43 billion for the quarter. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 42.60% and a net margin of 5.76%. Equities analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a $0.4075 dividend. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 30th. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 23.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on NRG shares. StockNews.com raised shares of NRG Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NRG Energy from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 24,546 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,047,381.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 266,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,192,398.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.