Martingale Asset Management L P Buys 30,405 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in NRG Energy by 72.5% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 30,405 shares for a total worth of approximately $6.9 million.
• Research analysts have set a consensus target price of $186.92 on NRG Energy, with various ratings including one Strong Buy and nine Buy ratings.
• NRG Energy recently announced a $0.44 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.2%, with a high payout ratio of 79.64%.

Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 72.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,405 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $6,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in NRG Energy by 44.0% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 655 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Melius initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.92.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $144.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,963,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,197,435. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.13 and a 1-year high of $175.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $154.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.48. The stock has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a PE ratio of 65.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.14.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.37 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 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.