5,162 Shares in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Acquired by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy, buying 5,162 shares valued around $493,000 during the first quarter.
• NRG Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.12%, scheduled for payment on August 15th.
• NRG Energy's stock performance includes a recent earnings report showing earnings per share of $2.62, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.72.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NRG. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in NRG Energy in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in NRG Energy by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in NRG Energy by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 662 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $197.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $167.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $129.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.30.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG stock traded up $5.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $164.87. 814,402 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,187,933. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.11 and a fifty-two week high of $168.57. The stock's fifty day moving average is $154.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.83. The company has a market cap of $32.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 73.78%. The company had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.39%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.