NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. by 31.6%, selling 16,870 shares, and now holds a total of 36,434 shares valued at approximately $5.85 million.
• NRG Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 79.64%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on NRG Energy, with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.85, following recent downgrades and upgrades by different firms.

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 31.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,870 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $5,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 23.8% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 99.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 413,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,512,000 after acquiring an additional 206,096 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 54.4% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 28.4% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NRG. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of 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. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.85.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.4%

NRG opened at $166.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50 day moving average is $157.14 and its 200-day moving average is $141.12. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $175.96. 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 (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted 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). 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.37 EPS. Analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.64%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,528,505. This represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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