Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Grows Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec has increased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. by 33.6%, owning 1,481,120 shares worth $141.4 million after acquiring an additional 372,618 shares.
• NRG Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.68, missing analysts' expectations of $1.72, despite achieving revenues of $6.74 billion, which was above the predicted $6.63 billion.
• The company's recent dividend payment was $0.44 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.76 and a yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 79.64%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 33.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,481,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 372,618 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.73% of NRG Energy worth $141,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $28,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $30,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $36,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 44.0% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 655 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NRG shares. Citigroup upped their price target on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.92.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG traded down $3.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,560,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,165,063. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.93. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.13 and a 12 month high of $175.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.14.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.37 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.64%.

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.