Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. by 0.4%, now owning approximately $65.54 million worth of shares.
• NRG Energy reported $1.68 EPS for the latest quarter, missing estimates, while revenue rose by 1.2% year-over-year, totaling $6.74 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing an annualized amount of $1.76 and a yield of 1.2%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 686,608 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,956 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of NRG Energy worth $65,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NRG. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 26,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 6,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 464,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,893,000 after purchasing an additional 174,759 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 28,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 11,234 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE NRG traded up $0.39 during trading on Monday, hitting $145.48. 782,237 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,189,856. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $154.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.13 and a 12-month high of $175.96. The firm has a market cap of $28.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.90, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.14.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NRG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. 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 report on Monday, May 5th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.92.

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.