State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $6.59 Million Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. by 11.1%, selling 8,639 shares to own a total of 69,028 shares valued at approximately $6.59 million.
• NRG Energy reported earnings of $1.68 per share in its last quarterly earnings, missing analyst estimates of $1.72, despite a revenue increase of 1.2% year-over-year to $6.74 billion.
• Equities analysts have set a consensus price target of $162.70 for NRG Energy's stock, with several firms recently raising their price objectives, indicating a favorable outlook for the company.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 11.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,028 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,639 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $6,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other 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 owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on NRG shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.92.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE NRG traded down $0.9520 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $144.9380. The company had a trading volume of 1,900,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,205,148. 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's 50 day moving average is $155.07 and its 200-day moving average is $128.82. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.13 and a 1-year high of $175.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.58, 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 earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's payout ratio is currently 79.64%.

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.