Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Acquires 2,190 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 54.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.3%

NRG stock traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $152.13. The stock had a trading volume of 7,964,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,976,292. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The firm has a market cap of $29.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.11 and a twelve month high of $162.33.

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

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. NRG Energy's payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NRG. Guggenheim raised their target price on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $129.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial began coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets restated 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, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.78.

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.