Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 about 0.24% of NRG Energy worth $46,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 6,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 242.3% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,482 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NRG. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays set a $197.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NRG Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $129.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $151.80.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NYSE NRG traded down $7.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $151.43. 3,066,244 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,980,717. The company has a market cap of $29.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $65.11 and a one year high of $168.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $148.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. NRG Energy's payout ratio is 28.39%.

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.