Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 2,450 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,127 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $155,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 43,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 11,920 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on NRG. Wall Street Zen upgraded NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Barclays set a $197.00 target price on NRG Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $129.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.30.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG traded up $4.59 on Friday, hitting $151.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,408,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,970,347. The company has a market capitalization of $29.71 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a PEG ratio of 1.21 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.11 and a fifty-two week high of $168.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $154.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.94.

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

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.