Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 4,590 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its stake in NRG Energy by 14.2%, now holding 27,740 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million, making it the 18th largest holding in their portfolio.
• NRG Energy recently announced a $0.44 per share quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 79.64%.
• Analysts have a moderate buy rating on NRG Energy, with an average target price of $186.92 following several upgrades from various research firms.

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,590 shares during the period. NRG Energy accounts for approximately 1.3% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $4,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $454,173,000 after buying an additional 6,049,247 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 772.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $406,342,000 after buying an additional 3,876,235 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 169.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $269,230,000 after buying an additional 1,771,829 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $195,693,000 after buying an additional 235,000 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,481,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $141,388,000 after buying an additional 372,618 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NRG shares. Melius started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup raised their price target 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, Scotiabank assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Monday. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.85.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NRG traded down $3.36 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.61. 1,400,701 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,089,255. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $154.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.96, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.17. 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 fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $175.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 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%.NRG Energy's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's payout ratio is currently 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.