ING Groep NV Invests $1.39 Million in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

ING Groep NV purchased a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 14,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,390,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,943,000 after buying an additional 316,445 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,223,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,392,000 after acquiring an additional 182,438 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,185,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $106,944,000 after purchasing an additional 380,564 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 32.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 992,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,774,000 after purchasing an additional 242,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 740,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,710,000 after purchasing an additional 6,064 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on NRG. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.10.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $148.67 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $29.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.14. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.90 and a fifty-two week high of $175.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 73.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 55,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.