Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Has $10.53 Million Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. by 21.9%, acquiring a total of 110,559 shares valued at approximately $10.5 million.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on NRG Energy, with a consensus target price of $160.30 and several upgrades raising price targets significantly, including Citigroup's increase to $185.00.
• NRG Energy reported a strong performance with $2.62 EPS, exceeding estimates, and a quarterly revenue increase of 15.6%, totaling $8.59 billion.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,559 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,861 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd owned 0.05% of NRG Energy worth $10,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 2,386.3% during the first quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 33,142 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,164,000 after buying an additional 31,809 shares in the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS bought a new position in NRG Energy during the first quarter worth $257,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in NRG Energy during the first quarter worth $2,110,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 0.8% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 740,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,710,000 after buying an additional 6,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 29.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 92,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,839,000 after buying an additional 21,290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 3.1%

NRG traded up $5.00 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $164.87. The company had a trading volume of 814,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,187,933. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $154.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.83. The company has a market cap of $32.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.11 and a 12-month 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.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $1.90. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 73.78% and a net margin of 4.66%. NRG Energy's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy 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 transaction, the director owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on NRG. Guggenheim raised their target price on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $167.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $129.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays set a $197.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.