Czech National Bank Has $4.44 Million Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,605 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $4,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $255,142,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $205,943,000 after purchasing an additional 316,445 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $163,749,000 after purchasing an additional 815,180 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,414,186 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $127,614,000 after purchasing an additional 56,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,374,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,984,000 after purchasing an additional 41,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NRG. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $129.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.75.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NRG traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $155.95. 2,491,145 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,005,008. The company has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.11 and a 12-month high of $162.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.87.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $1.90. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 48.96% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.