Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 394,834 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 77.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 394,834 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of NRG Energy worth $8,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,671,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 253.2% in the 1st quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 1,766,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,000 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in NRG Energy by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,610,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $109,007,000 after acquiring an additional 160,415 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 65.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,318,000 after purchasing an additional 633,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $64,306,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.14.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.44. The company had a trading volume of 574,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,460,808. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.61 and a 52-week high of $87.58.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $1.82. The company had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 42.60% and a net margin of 5.76%. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.09%.

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.