United Capital Management of KS Inc. Sells 3,465 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• United Capital Management of KS Inc. reduced its stake in NRG Energy by 9.5%, selling 3,465 shares and bringing its total to 33,001 shares valued at $3.15 million.
• Analysts have forecasted positive growth for NRG Energy, with multiple firm upgrades raising the target price significantly; currently, the average target price sits at $162.70.
• NRG Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.1%, with the payout ratio standing at 79.64%.

United Capital Management of KS Inc. reduced its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,465 shares during the quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc.'s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $3,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in NRG Energy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 167,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,925,000 after buying an additional 65,507 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 3.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 664.8% in the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 96,425 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,205,000 after purchasing an additional 83,817 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 169.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $269,230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771,829 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 3.5% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 65,006 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on NRG shares. Guggenheim upped their price target on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. 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 target for the company. Melius initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.92.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock traded down $1.3340 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.0460. The company had a trading volume of 990,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,212,001. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.39. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.13 and a 1-year high of $175.96. The company has a market capitalization of $28.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.14.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.