26,015 Shares in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Purchased by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 26,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,123,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 90.4% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 3,714.3% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 1,970.6% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NRG. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $232.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total transaction of $9,796,391.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 93,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,053,422.19. The trade was a 39.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 177,556 shares of company stock valued at $28,333,696. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NRG opened at $150.15 on Thursday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $189.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $158.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.76. The firm has a market cap of $32.22 billion, a PE ratio of 38.11 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 48.22%.

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.