The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 15.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 170,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 30,527 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.08% of NRG Energy worth $15,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in NRG Energy by 104.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 73,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 37,750 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 65.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,318,000 after buying an additional 633,765 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 95.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 15,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,429,000 after buying an additional 7,662 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $746,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 169.3% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 263,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,042,000 after acquiring an additional 165,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $101.61 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $91.65 and its 200 day moving average is $83.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.10. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.74 and a twelve month high of $103.14.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.4075 dividend. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total value of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,688. This represents a 38.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company 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.