Virtu Financial LLC Buys 9,703 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 188.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,703 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 93.1% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 357,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,489,000 after buying an additional 172,400 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 885.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 237,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,073,000 after purchasing an additional 213,347 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 269,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,946,000 after purchasing an additional 164,543 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 784.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 10,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 9,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 148.6% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 21,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after buying an additional 13,040 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.75.

NRG Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NRG stock opened at $81.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.03. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $36.61 and a one year high of $87.58.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $1.82. NRG Energy had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 43.69%. The firm had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total value of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,688. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.