Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.6%, owning approximately 1.11 million shares, which represents 0.8% of its portfolio.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. significantly increased its position in NRG Energy by 468.4%, now holding nearly 4.76 million shares valued at $454.17 million.
• NRG Energy recently reported earnings per share of $1.68, missing estimates, but revenue was up 1.2% year-over-year at $6.74 billion.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,114,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,257 shares during the quarter. NRG Energy makes up about 0.8% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.55% of NRG Energy worth $106,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 23.8% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 99.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 413,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,512,000 after acquiring an additional 206,096 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 54.4% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $276,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG traded down $0.2780 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $148.1020. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,458,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,284,310. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.13 and a 52-week high of $175.96. The company's fifty day moving average price is $155.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.52. The company has a market capitalization of $28.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.93.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The business had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.37 EPS. NRG Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's payout ratio is currently 79.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NRG shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. 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 note on Tuesday, May 13th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 target price for the company. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.