Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 10,932 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in NRG by 98.7% in Q4, buying 10,932 shares to hold 22,003 shares worth about $3.504 million.
• NRG reported Q4 EPS of $1.04, missing the $1.19 consensus while revenue rose 13.7% to $7.75 billion, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.475 ($1.90 annualized, a 1.1% yield).
• Analysts carry a "Moderate Buy" consensus on NRG with an average price target of $198.21, amid mixed coverage including new buy/outperform ratings from Evercore and Goldman Sachs.

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 98.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,932 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $3,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NRG. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 90.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3,714.3% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 267 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1,970.6% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,693,291.75. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $197.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut NRG Energy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on NRG Energy from $203.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.21.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE NRG opened at $167.61 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.54 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.44. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.84 and a 12 month high of $189.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy's payout ratio is 48.22%.

NRG Energy Profile

NRG Energy NYSE: NRG is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.

NRG's generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.

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