Northern Trust Corp Cuts Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in NRG Energy by 1.6%, holding 2,245,734 shares valued at approximately $214 million.
• Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares for $7.73 million, significantly reducing his position by 47.43%.
• NRG Energy reported a quarterly earnings miss with $1.68 EPS, below the expected $1.72, but revenue increased to $6.74 billion, a 1.2% rise year-over-year.

Northern Trust Corp trimmed its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,245,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 36,938 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.10% of NRG Energy worth $214,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 44.0% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 655 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $145.7670 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $155.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. The firm has a market cap of $28.20 billion, a PE ratio of 65.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.14.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.37 EPS. NRG Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays increased their target price on NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Melius began coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.92.

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.

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