Blue Trust Inc. Sells 1,173 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 41.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,173 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,481,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 1,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:NRG opened at $111.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.37 and its 200 day moving average is $92.35. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.49 and a 12 month high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 44.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.71.

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.