NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. by 19.4%, owning approximately 149,444 shares after selling 35,950 shares in the first quarter.
• Recent analyst reports have varied, with Wells Fargo raising its target price for NRG Energy to $200.00 while Melius Research set a target of $308.00, reflecting a generally optimistic outlook.
• NRG Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44, resulting in an annual dividend yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 79.64%.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 149,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 35,950 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.07% of NRG Energy worth $14,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 99.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 413,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,512,000 after purchasing an additional 206,096 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $276,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NRG traded down $3.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $145.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,560,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,165,063. The stock has a market cap of $28.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.31. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy's payout ratio is presently 79.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Melius assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.92.

NRG Energy Company Profile

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.