Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 52.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,297 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,770 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 104.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 73,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,000,000 after acquiring an additional 37,750 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 65.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $124,318,000 after acquiring an additional 633,765 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth about $746,000. NatWest Group plc increased its stake in NRG Energy by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 79,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,215,000 after buying an additional 6,618 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 458,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,800,000 after purchasing an additional 69,047 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG stock traded up $9.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.20. The company had a trading volume of 4,644,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,264,201. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.46 and a 1-year high of $102.84. 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 $20.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $90.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.25.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on NRG. Citigroup boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,688. This represents a 38.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

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.