Viking Fund Management LLC Acquires 2,000 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Viking Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $3,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $276,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 99,317 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,960,000 after purchasing an additional 2,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 85.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NRG shares. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $129.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $167.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.75.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NRG Energy stock traded down $1.02 on Thursday, reaching $155.95. 2,491,014 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,280,631. The firm's 50-day moving average is $121.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.87. The company has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.11 and a 52 week high of $162.33.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $1.90. The business had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

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.