NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has increased its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. by 64.2% during the first quarter, now owning 167,529 shares valued at approximately $15.9 million.
• NRG Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing a 1.2% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 79.64%.
• Despite reporting $1.68 earnings per share for the last quarter—missing estimates by $0.04—NRG Energy's revenue increased by 1.2% year-over-year, totaling $6.74 billion.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 64.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 65,507 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.08% of NRG Energy worth $15,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 23.8% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 99.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 413,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,512,000 after purchasing an additional 206,096 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 54.4% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $8,563,471.50. This represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NRG stock opened at $150.26 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $29.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.99, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.25. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.13 and a 1-year high of $175.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NRG shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.70.

NRG Energy Company 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.

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