MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,183 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of NRG Energy worth $11,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in NRG Energy by 468.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $454,173,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049,247 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in NRG Energy by 169.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,829 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $93,075,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in NRG Energy by 10,483.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 661,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,132,000 after purchasing an additional 655,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,881,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.2%

NRG stock opened at $144.76 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.77. The company has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.14. 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 12 month low of $76.13 and a 12 month high of $175.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 79.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.92.

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.