NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 164,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,378 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of NRG Energy worth $5,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter valued at about $114,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 145.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,746,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,064,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812,434 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 396.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,549,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,844 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1,319.5% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,306,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 193.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,321,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,317,000 after buying an additional 870,777 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG opened at $37.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.00. The stock has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.25, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.85. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.25 and a 12-month high of $45.80.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by ($1.22). The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.73 billion. NRG Energy had a positive return on equity of 25.82% and a negative net margin of 6.75%. The business’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 1st were given a $0.3775 dividend. This represents a $1.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 31st. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently -17.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NRG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $43.00 to $46.00 in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.00.

NRG Energy Company Profile

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated power company in the United States. It operates through Texas, East, and West segments. The company is involved in producing and selling electricity and related products and services to approximately residential, commercial, industrial, and wholesale customers.