NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 596,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 290,605 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $96,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 6,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $1,360,000. Sunpointe LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $951,000. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 102.2% in the third quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at $19,936,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $155.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45 and a beta of 1.26. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.69.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total transaction of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. This represents a 50.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NRG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price objective on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.33.

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.