Range Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Range Financial Group LLC has made a new investment of $299,000 in NRG Energy, acquiring 1,862 shares during the second quarter.
• NRG Energy's recent quarterly earnings report indicated a missed estimate of $1.72 EPS, reporting only $1.68, despite a revenue of $6.74 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 79.64%.

Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,862 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 468.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $454,173,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049,247 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 772.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $406,342,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876,235 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 169.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $269,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,829 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 12.9% in the first quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $195,693,000 after purchasing an additional 235,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 33.6% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,481,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $141,388,000 after acquiring an additional 372,618 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Melius started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.92.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $163.87. 4,195,804 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,102,017. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $175.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.70 billion, a PE ratio of 74.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.17.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.37 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.64%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,654,160.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

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.