NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Purchased by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management boosted its stake in NRG by 33.1%, buying 16,545 shares to hold 66,483 shares worth about $10.77 million at the end of the quarter.
• NRG's stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $198.43, and several analysts issuing buy/strong-buy recommendations (targets roughly $153–$225).
• NRG reported quarterly EPS of $1.04 (missing estimates of $1.19) while revenue rose to $7.75 billion (+13.7% YoY), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.475 ($1.90 annualized, ~1.3% yield).

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 16,545 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $10,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. CMC Financial Group purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $342,000. Cambria Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 24.9% during the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 168.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 244,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,578,000 after purchasing an additional 153,239 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,334,000. Finally, WBI Investments LLC increased its stake in NRG Energy by 196.0% in the third quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 7,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 5,083 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a "buy" rating and a $197.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered NRG Energy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.43.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $145.92 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $189.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.64.

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

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This is an increase from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 55,495 shares in the company, valued at $8,693,291.75. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,556 shares of company stock worth $28,333,696. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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