AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in NRG Energy by 20.9%, selling 147,776 shares, and now holds 559,636 shares valued at approximately $52.46 million.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. dramatically increased its stake in NRG Energy by 468.4% during the same period, acquiring an additional 6,049,247 shares worth $454.17 million.
• NRG Energy's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.68, falling short of analysts' $1.72 consensus estimate, while revenue increased by 1.2% year-over-year to $6.74 billion.

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 559,636 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 147,776 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.27% of NRG Energy worth $52,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 44.0% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 655 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG traded up $7.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $165.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,278,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,979,868. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. The company has a market capitalization of $31.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.17. The company's 50-day moving average is $153.23 and its 200 day moving average is $133.67. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.49 and a 12-month high of $175.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its 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). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The firm had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.37 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,528,505. The trade was a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently 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.