Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Boosts Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. by 117.1% during the 1st quarter, now owning 7,163 shares valued at approximately $684,000.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on NRG Energy, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $160.30, reflecting optimism from some research firms.
• NRG Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%, with a dividend payout ratio of 28.39%.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 117.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,863 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.'s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in NRG Energy by 10,483.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 661,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,132,000 after buying an additional 655,098 shares during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $54,881,000. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,185,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $106,944,000 after purchasing an additional 380,564 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in NRG Energy by 119.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 677,894 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,161,000 after purchasing an additional 368,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 1,429.9% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 359,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,334,000 after purchasing an additional 336,161 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. This represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NRG. Wall Street Zen cut NRG Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.70.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $152.72. 2,574,077 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,324,011. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $155.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.93. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.13 and a 12-month high of $175.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.14.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.37 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is 79.64%.

NRG Energy 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.