NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Acquired by HCR Wealth Advisors

HCR Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 386.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,057 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in NRG Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $255,142,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,943,000 after purchasing an additional 316,445 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,749,000 after purchasing an additional 815,180 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,414,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,614,000 after purchasing an additional 56,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in NRG Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,374,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,984,000 after buying an additional 41,094 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $129.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $167.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.78.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 55,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $152.49 on Thursday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.11 and a 12-month high of $162.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $133.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 73.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.39%.

NRG Energy Company 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.