Hanlon Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Hanlon Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $499,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $217,671,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 253.2% in the first quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 1,766,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,000 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the first quarter valued at about $64,306,000. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,773,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,318,000 after buying an additional 633,765 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NRG Energy stock opened at $88.05 on Tuesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.90 and a 52 week high of $96.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $86.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.10.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 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 business had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 17.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,688. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.75.

NRG Energy Company 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.