Swiss National Bank Sells 11,700 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in NRG Energy by 2.0%, selling 11,700 shares and ending with approximately 571,400 shares valued at around $54.5 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in NRG Energy, with Goldman Sachs raising its stake by 468.4% to own nearly 4.76 million shares worth $454.2 million.
• NRG Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing an annualized payout of $1.76 and a yield of 1.2%.

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 571,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of NRG Energy worth $54,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 468.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $454,173,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049,247 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $205,943,000 after purchasing an additional 316,445 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,223,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,392,000 after acquiring an additional 182,438 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in NRG Energy by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,185,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $106,944,000 after acquiring an additional 380,564 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in NRG Energy by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,050,924 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $100,321,000 after acquiring an additional 71,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NRG opened at $152.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.13 and a 1 year high of $175.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.17. The firm has a market cap of $29.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.14.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.04). NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The business had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 research note on Thursday. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.70.

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.

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