Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 1,435 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,435 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,151,688. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $87.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.60 and a 200 day moving average of $76.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 1.10. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.61 and a 12-month high of $87.58.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $1.82. NRG Energy had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 43.69%. The business had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NRG. StockNews.com lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.75.

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.