National Pension Service Sells 7,183 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service reduced its stake in NRG Energy by 1.3%, selling 7,183 shares, and currently owns 530,920 shares valued at approximately $50.68 million.
• Analyst ratings for NRG Energy are largely positive, with three holding ratings, seven buy ratings, and one strong buy rating, while the average price target has been set at $162.70.
• NRG Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 79.64%.

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 530,920 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,183 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.26% of NRG Energy worth $50,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in NRG Energy by 3.5% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 65,006 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 4.1% in the first quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 261,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,961,000 after buying an additional 10,193 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $93,075,000. Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 5.8% in the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 7,353 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 23.6% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.70.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NRG stock opened at $153.98 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.13 and a 52-week high of $175.96. The stock has a market cap of $29.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $155.44 and a 200-day moving average of $127.24.

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 (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.37 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.64%.

Insider Activity

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

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.

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