Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 9,564 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 491,246 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,564 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of NRG Energy worth $46,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $155,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 85.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,302 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $151.44. 2,101,649 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,979,088. The stock has a market cap of $29.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $150.13 and its 200-day moving average is $116.98. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $168.57.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 73.78%. The business had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded NRG Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy 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 $151.80.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.