Pitcairn Co. Cuts Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Pitcairn Co. lessened its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 229.7% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 110,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,978,000 after purchasing an additional 77,051 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in NRG Energy by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 335,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,298,000 after acquiring an additional 99,091 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 10.1 %

Shares of NRG opened at $83.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.11 and a 1-year high of $117.26. The company has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.28.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $129.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.00.

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.