NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,196,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,167,489 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.03% of NRG Energy worth $4,080,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $323,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 7.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in NRG Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 17,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 172.4% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.73.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.6%

NRG Energy stock opened at $173.41 on Wednesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $180.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.97.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.40%.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,254.32. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total value of $9,796,391.80. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at $15,053,422.19. The trade was a 39.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446 in the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.