IFP Advisors Inc Decreases Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• IFP Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in NRG Energy by 34.8%, bringing their total to 3,237 shares valued at $311,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for NRG Energy, with estimates ranging from $132.00 to $200.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, yielding an annualized rate of 1.12%, with a payout ratio of 28.39%.

IFP Advisors Inc decreased its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 34.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,237 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,726 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $155,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 221,039 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,942,000 after purchasing an additional 36,181 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 324,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,963,000 after purchasing an additional 14,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 21,363 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE NRG traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $158.51. 2,071,534 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,214,239. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.13. 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $154.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.16. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $168.57.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 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 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. NRG Energy's payout ratio is 28.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NRG shares. Barclays set a $197.00 price objective on NRG Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup boosted 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. Raymond James Financial started coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.30.

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.