Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $670,000 Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 47.7%, acquiring an additional 2,267 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 7,017 shares valued at approximately $670,000.
• Analysts have recently raised their price targets for NRG Energy, with Wells Fargo boosting its target from $165.00 to $200.00, reflecting a strong positive sentiment towards the company's outlook.
• NRG Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.62, significantly exceeding expectations and indicating a revenue increase of 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 47.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,017 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,267 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $30,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 662 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 44.0% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 655 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Stock Down 13.5%

Shares of NRG traded down $23.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.67. 9,528,437 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,257,577. The stock's 50-day moving average is $155.96 and its 200-day moving average is $125.17. The company has a market cap of $29.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.06.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 73.78% and a net margin of 4.66%. The business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NRG Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.10.

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.