Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 91.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 140,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,456,391 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $12,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $217,671,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 253.2% in the 1st quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 1,766,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,541,000 after buying an additional 1,266,000 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $64,306,000. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,773,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,134,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $87.53 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.18. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $41.49 and a one year high of $96.40.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $1.82. The firm had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 43.69% and a net margin of 7.19%. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,688. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NRG Energy from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com lowered NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.25.

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.