Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 83.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NRG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 64.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related 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 transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. This represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NRG traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $151.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,257,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,991,524. The stock has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.11 and a 52 week high of $162.33. The company's fifty day moving average price is $130.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.69.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $1.90. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 48.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. On average, analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on NRG shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $167.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.78.

NRG Energy 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.