NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Bought by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 44.1%, acquiring a total of 9,278 shares valued at approximately $885,000 during the 1st quarter.
• NRG Energy reported a miss in quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.68 compared to analysts' expectations of $1.72, but its revenue increased by 1.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.2% with a payout ratio of approximately 79.64%.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 44.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,278 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,841 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 99.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 413,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,512,000 after purchasing an additional 206,096 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $276,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $144.9380 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.13 and a 52 week high of $175.96. The company's 50 day moving average is $154.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. The company has a market cap of $28.04 billion, a PE ratio of 65.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.14.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.04). NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $0.44 dividend. 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 is currently 79.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Melius started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.92.

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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