Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Invests $177,000 in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC has acquired a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. by purchasing 1,851 shares valued at approximately $177,000 during the first quarter.
• Several research firms have recently issued upgrades on NRG Energy, with Wells Fargo raising their target price from $165 to $200 and issuing an "overweight" rating.
• NRG Energy has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44, representing an annualized yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio currently at 79.64%.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $177,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 44.0% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 655 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock traded down $5.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $148.31. 2,789,153 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,379,730. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.13 and a twelve month high of $175.96. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $155.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $28.69 billion, a PE ratio of 67.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.14.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.04). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%. The company had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.64%.

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.