McIlrath & Eck LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

McIlrath & Eck LLC cut its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in NRG Energy by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $159.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.07. 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 fifty-two week low of $65.11 and a fifty-two week high of $161.78. The company has a market cap of $31.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.00.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $1.90. The company had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 48.96% and a net margin of 3.43%. NRG Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 28.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NRG. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $167.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.75.

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.