Eastern Bank Purchases New Shares in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank has acquired a new stake in NRG Energy, Inc., investing approximately $143,000 for 1,500 shares during the first quarter.
• NRG Energy reported earnings per share of $2.62 for the last quarter, significantly surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.72, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.6%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, which will be paid on August 15th, and has a current annual dividend yield of 1.1%.

Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $143,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in NRG Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $205,943,000 after purchasing an additional 316,445 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 4.2% in 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,223,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $110,392,000 after purchasing an additional 182,438 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in NRG Energy by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,185,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $106,944,000 after acquiring an additional 380,564 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 32.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 992,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $94,774,000 after acquiring an additional 242,010 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NRG traded up $0.63 on Friday, reaching $167.83. 2,557,564 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,544,449. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $155.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.23. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $169.24.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. The company 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy 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 transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NRG. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $167.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $197.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.30.

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.