BLB&B Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

BLB&B Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 54.4% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $276,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 97.4% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 28.4% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 3,721 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:NRG traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $155.30. 2,754,589 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,973,927. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $144.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.47. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $168.57. The company has a market capitalization of $30.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $1.90. The business 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 revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is 28.39%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $8,563,471.50. This represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NRG shares. Guggenheim increased their target price on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective 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 restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $129.00 target price for the company. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.80.

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.