Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 196 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 196 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,225,000 after purchasing an additional 313,478 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,820,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,948,000 after buying an additional 24,834 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,639,000 after buying an additional 182,481 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 1,010.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,504,000 after buying an additional 1,417,057 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 52.2% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,330,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $121,227,000 after acquiring an additional 456,573 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG opened at $105.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $100.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.90. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.49 and a 52 week high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.22%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.71.

About NRG Energy

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.