Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.55 Billion Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,238,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,126 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.14% of NRG Energy worth $2,547,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NRG shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.29.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG opened at $102.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $20.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $102.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.43. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.11 and a 1 year high of $117.26.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.