Vista Investment Partners LLC Makes New $590,000 Investment in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 97.4% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth $276,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 2.5% in 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 lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 85.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $153.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.40 and a 200 day moving average of $110.14. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.11 and a 52 week high of $162.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57.

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

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. NRG Energy's payout ratio is presently 28.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.78.

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.

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