Insider Selling: NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) VP Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total value of $783,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 55,495 shares in the company, valued at $8,693,291.75. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

NRG Energy Stock Up 1.5%

NRG Energy stock traded up $2.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $154.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,828,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,607,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $189.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $158.83 and its 200 day moving average is $161.89. The company has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.27 and a beta of 1.26.

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

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 178.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,676,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,222,409,000 after buying an additional 4,916,653 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth $305,817,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 124.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,808,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $287,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,672 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% in the second 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. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,918,000 after purchasing an additional 734,624 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NRG. Evercore started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.33.

About NRG Energy

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.