Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 1,046 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,046 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 414.9% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Trading Down 1.0%

NRG stock opened at $159.63 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.11 and a 52-week high of $161.78. The firm has a market cap of $31.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.11, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.00.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. NRG Energy had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 48.96%. The business had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NRG shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $129.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.75.

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.