TD Asset Management Inc Grows Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in NRG Energy by 5.3%, owning a total of 74,651 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million following additional purchases.
• NRG Energy's recent quarterly earnings beat estimates, reporting $2.62 earnings per share against a consensus of $0.72, with revenues rising 15.6% year-over-year to $8.59 billion.
• The company announced a $0.44 quarterly dividend with an annualized yield of 1.1%, affirming a dividend payout ratio of 28.39%.

TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $7,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NRG. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 662 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Barclays set a $197.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $167.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.83. 2,557,564 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,544,449. The firm has a market cap of $32.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's fifty day moving average is $155.33 and its 200 day moving average is $124.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $65.11 and a one year high of $169.24.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. The company had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 73.78%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.39%.

About NRG Energy

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.