Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 64,241 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 64.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 163,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 64,241 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $15,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 124.5% in the 1st quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 2,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 74,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,126,000 after buying an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $493,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 110,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,525,000 after purchasing an additional 19,861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NRG. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.30.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:NRG opened at $159.75 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.83. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $168.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The stock has a market cap of $31.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. The company had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 73.78%. NRG Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 28.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total value of $7,725,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Profile

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.