Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in NRG Energy by 2,386.3% in the 1st quarter, owning 33,142 shares valued at approximately $3.16 million.
• Analysts have favorable views on NRG Energy, with several firms giving it a "buy" or "strong buy" rating and target prices ranging from $129.00 to $200.00.
• NRG Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $1.76 and a yield of 1.11%.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 2,386.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,142 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,809 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $3,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 44.0% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 655 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $129.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $160.30.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NRG Energy Trading Down 1.5%

NRG stock opened at $158.12 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $154.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.42. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.11 and a fifty-two week high of $168.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $30.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.13.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $1.90. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 73.78%. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. NRG Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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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