Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 540 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 96,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,988,000 after purchasing an additional 40,267 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $72.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -68.09 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.52 and a 12 month high of $76.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.75 and its 200 day moving average is $53.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. NRG Energy had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a positive return on equity of 44.03%. Research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is -152.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on NRG shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. TheStreet upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.50.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.59, for a total transaction of $3,072,668.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 356,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,342,251.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.