Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Cuts Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 358,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 41,706 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $32,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NRG. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,481,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $97.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $117.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $102.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.45. The company has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.29.

NRG Energy Profile

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.