NewEdge Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in NRG Energy by 146.2% during Q1, owning 42,456 shares valued at approximately $4.05 million.
• NRG Energy reported a Q2 EPS of $1.68, missing estimates, while its revenue of $6.74 billion exceeded expectations, showing a 1.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44, translating to an annualized yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 79.64%.

NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 146.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,211 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $4,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in NRG Energy by 468.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $454,173,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049,247 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in NRG Energy by 772.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $406,342,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876,235 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in NRG Energy by 169.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $269,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,829 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $93,075,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in NRG Energy by 289.1% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,023,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,672,000 after purchasing an additional 760,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,654,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG traded up $7.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $165.06. 2,278,123 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,979,868. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $175.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Melius Research assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.92.

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.