Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $36.78 Million Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in NRG by 38.7% in Q4, selling 145,733 shares and ending the period with 230,888 shares worth about $36.78 million (roughly 0.12% of the company).
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.21, while some firms have issued higher targets (BNP Paribas Exane at $232) and multiple upgrades were reported.
• NRG missed EPS expectations in the latest quarter (reported $1.04 vs. $1.19 expected) but beat on revenue at $7.75 billion, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.475 (annualized $1.90, yield 1.3%) with an ex-dividend date of May 1.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 230,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 145,733 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.12% of NRG Energy worth $36,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 33,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,913 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 5,638 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in NRG Energy by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,056,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded NRG Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research upgraded NRG Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on NRG Energy from $203.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $232.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.21.

NRG Energy Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $148.93 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.86. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $105.30 and a 1 year high of $189.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. Analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is 48.22%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 55,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,693,291.75. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Profile

NRG Energy NYSE: NRG is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.

NRG's generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.

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