NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Stock Position Reduced by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,238,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,126 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 13.94% of NRG Energy worth $2,547,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NRG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in NRG Energy by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 414.9% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 221.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on NRG shares. Guggenheim upped their price target on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.29.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $102.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $102.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $117.26.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 35.92%.

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.