Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. by 29.9%, owning a total of 92,592 shares valued at approximately $8.84 million.
• NRG Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $2.62, significantly exceeding analyst expectations of $0.72, with revenues of $8.59 billion for the period.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.76, which translates to a yield of 1.1%.

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 29.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,290 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in NRG Energy were worth $8,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 23.8% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 99.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 413,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,512,000 after acquiring an additional 206,096 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,190 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $276,000. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:NRG traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $172.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,963,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,197,709. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $155.65 and a 200 day moving average of $124.84. The company has a market cap of $33.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.14. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $175.96.

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

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is 28.39%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $167.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays set a $197.00 price target on NRG Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut NRG Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.30.

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.