NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,870,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 473,622 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,274,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in NRG Energy by 0.7% during the second 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 last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,921,000 after purchasing an additional 767,014 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,225,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,442,000 after buying an additional 86,528 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 975,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,601,000 after buying an additional 19,997 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 887,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,501,000 after buying an additional 237,009 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price target on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.33.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $155.12 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.57 and a twelve month high of $189.96. The firm 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 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 48.22%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

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

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.