Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 345 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Carret Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 345 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in NRG Energy by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim upped their target price on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $95.38 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $102.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.36. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $62.56 and a one year high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.92%.

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.