Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Grows Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 74.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,521 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,619 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 662 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,302 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in NRG Energy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.8%

NRG stock traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $162.79. 9,662,378 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,971,656. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.11 and a 1-year high of $168.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61.

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

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays set a $197.00 price target on NRG Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $167.00 target price (up 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.