NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,440,637 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 116,713 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.71% of NRG Energy worth $137,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NRG. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $167.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $129.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.78.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 55,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $151.81. 2,257,409 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,988,381. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.11 and a 52 week high of $162.33.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 48.96% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

NRG Energy 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.