Guidance Capital Inc. Cuts Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Guidance Capital Inc. reduced its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,463 shares during the quarter. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 4.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $1,344,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 209.6% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.8% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $223,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 24,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,047,381.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 266,064 shares in the company, valued at $22,192,398.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,940,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,850,428. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.97 and a 1 year high of $87.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.32.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $7.43 billion during the quarter. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 42.60% and a net margin of 5.76%. Analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NRG shares. StockNews.com raised shares of NRG Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

NRG Energy Profile

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.