Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 297,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,661 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.16% of NRG Energy worth $47,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in NRG Energy by 90.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. BOKF NA raised its stake in NRG Energy by 3,714.3% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1,970.6% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $157.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $33.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.85 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $161.33 and its 200 day moving average is $161.37. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $90.84 and a one year high of $189.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 8.82 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research raised NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded NRG Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $232.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 55,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,693,291.75. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Profile

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.