Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 8,309,741 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in NRG Energy, selling 8.3 million shares, which resulted in a remaining holding worth approximately $8.36 million.
• NRG Energy recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.68 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 but exceeding revenue projections with $6.74 billion.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy for NRG Energy, with a target price average of $186.92 and several upgrades from firms like Citigroup and BMO Capital Markets.

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 99.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,309,741 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $8,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in NRG Energy by 23.8% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in NRG Energy by 99.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 413,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,512,000 after buying an additional 206,096 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 54.4% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 28.4% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NRG. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Melius began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.92.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:NRG traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $163.87. The stock had a trading volume of 4,195,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,121,923. The company has a market cap of $31.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.17. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $175.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business's 50 day moving average is $154.44 and its 200-day moving average is $136.30.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released 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). The business had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.