Amundi Raises Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in NRG Energy by 772.5% by acquiring an additional 3,876,235 shares, bringing its total holdings to 4,378,022 shares valued at approximately $406 million.
• NRG Energy's recent quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.68, which was below analysts' expectations of $1.72, despite revenue rising by 1.2% compared to the previous year.
• The company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with a target price averaging around $186.92.

Amundi raised its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 772.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,876,235 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 2.15% of NRG Energy worth $406,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 468.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $454,173,000 after buying an additional 6,049,247 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 169.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $269,230,000 after buying an additional 1,771,829 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $195,693,000 after purchasing an additional 235,000 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 33.6% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,481,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $141,388,000 after acquiring an additional 372,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised 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 buying an additional 182,438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.92.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock traded up $0.08 on Monday, reaching $147.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,332,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,126,648. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $153.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.23. The company has a market capitalization of $28.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.85, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.17. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.13 and a 52-week high of $175.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.37 earnings per share. Analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy's payout ratio is 79.64%.

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.