Traders Purchase High Volume of NRG Energy Call Options (NYSE:NRG)

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 13,309 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 221% compared to the typical volume of 4,152 call options.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.52, for a total value of $2,550,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 45,111 shares in the company, valued at $5,752,554.72. This represents a 30.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 571,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,026,000 after acquiring an additional 276,157 shares during the period. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP now owns 90,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,332,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 83.8% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 568,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $90,522,000 after purchasing an additional 259,113 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 523,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,315,000 after purchasing an additional 51,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1,799.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 134,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,421,000 after purchasing an additional 127,438 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NRG. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $203.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Siebert Williams Shank assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, July 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $184.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Williams Trading set a $184.00 target price on NRG Energy in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.93.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $136.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.77 billion, a PE ratio of 160.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $135.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.57. NRG Energy has a twelve month low of $120.11 and a twelve month high of $189.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.43 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 70.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 223.53%.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.

NRG’s generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.