Swiss National Bank Sells 53,000 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 563,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 53,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of NRG Energy worth $91,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $865,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,253 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 113.3% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,921,000 after buying an additional 767,014 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 7.6% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,225,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,442,000 after acquiring an additional 86,528 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 975,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,601,000 after acquiring an additional 19,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 887,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,501,000 after purchasing an additional 237,009 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NRG shares. Zacks Research raised NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price objective on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.33.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $155.12 on Wednesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.57 and a twelve month high of $189.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.37 and a beta of 1.26.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.22%.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Profile

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.