Strategic Blueprint LLC Trims Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Strategic Blueprint LLC cut its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 588 shares during the quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.43.

NRG Energy Trading Up 4.4 %

NRG Energy stock opened at $104.95 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.26 and a 52-week high of $115.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.07.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 44.22%.

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.