Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Takes $348,000 Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NRG. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $94,346,000. Appaloosa LP boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $163,749,000 after acquiring an additional 815,180 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 904,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,583,000 after acquiring an additional 703,481 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $61,679,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 10,483.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 661,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,132,000 after acquiring an additional 655,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on NRG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $167.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim raised their price target on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.75.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $155.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.11 and a 1-year high of $162.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $123.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.89.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 48.96% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 55,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

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.

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