Aberdeen Group plc Sells 3,702 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,702 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.07% of NRG Energy worth $20,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $790,471,000 after purchasing an additional 31,238 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position 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 valued at $231,921,000 after acquiring an additional 767,014 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in NRG Energy by 42.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,368,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,671,000 after acquiring an additional 409,776 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in NRG Energy by 7.6% during 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in NRG Energy by 47.8% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 958,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $155,307,000 after acquiring an additional 309,989 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,693,291.75. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on NRG Energy from $203.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.21.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $149.80 on Tuesday. 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 12-month low of $79.57 and a 12-month high of $189.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 1.35.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its 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 return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.22%.

NRG Energy Company 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.