Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,238,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,126 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.94% of NRG Energy worth $2,547,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $867,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 221,039 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,942,000 after buying an additional 36,181 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $692,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $120,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

NRG traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.05. 2,403,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,083,958. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $101.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.11 and a 1 year high of $117.26.

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NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of 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 note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Guggenheim upped their price target on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $123.29.

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.