Flputnam Investment Management Co. Purchases 5,181 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. by 10.7%, owning 53,505 shares worth approximately $5.1 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Boston Partners, have significantly increased their holdings in NRG Energy during the first quarter, highlighting strong institutional interest.
• Research analysts have given NRG Energy an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $186.92, with some rating it as a "strong buy" and setting targets up to $308.00.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,181 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $5,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 3.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 12.1% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 13.0% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 904 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in NRG Energy by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,482 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in NRG Energy by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NRG. Melius began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Barclays upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.92.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NRG stock traded up $1.06 on Thursday, hitting $147.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,140,031. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.13 and a twelve month high of $175.96. The firm has a market cap of $28.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.95, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.43.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.37 earnings per share. NRG Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.