NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Stake Lowered by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 470,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 53,584 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $42,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 63,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,732,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 5,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in NRG Energy by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 65,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,074,000 after purchasing an additional 24,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, 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 value of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $105.24 on Tuesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.26 and a twelve month high of $115.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.66. The company has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.43.

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.