Hancock Whitney Corp Cuts Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its holdings in NRG Energy by 17.1%, owning 13,562 shares worth approximately $1.29 million after selling 2,792 shares.
• Goldman Sachs raised its stake in NRG Energy by a staggering 468.4%, while Amundi increased its holdings by 772.5%, showing significant institutional interest in the utilities provider.
• NRG Energy reported a Q2 earnings per share of $1.68, missing analysts' estimates, while its revenue increased by 1.2% to $6.74 billion year-over-year.

Hancock Whitney Corp decreased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,562 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,792 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 468.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $454,173,000 after acquiring an additional 6,049,247 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 772.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $406,342,000 after buying an additional 3,876,235 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 169.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $269,230,000 after buying an additional 1,771,829 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $93,075,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 289.1% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,023,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,672,000 after acquiring an additional 760,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.92.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NRG Energy stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Thursday, reaching $160.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 631,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,106,235. The company has a market cap of $31.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.69, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's 50-day moving average is $153.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $175.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 79.64%.

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.