NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Stock Holdings Lowered by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG reduced its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 743,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 215,340 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $118,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NRG. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,918,000 after purchasing an additional 734,624 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $98,360,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 4,470.7% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 614,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,521,000 after acquiring an additional 601,079 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $85,951,000. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $76,415,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NRG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $159.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday. Evercore started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $232.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.57.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 55,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,693,291.75. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.5%

NRG Energy stock opened at $153.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $159.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.83. The firm has a market cap of $32.88 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89 and a beta of 1.32. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month high of $189.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.64.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 8.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.22%.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.

NRG’s generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.