NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by Freemont Management S.A.

Freemont Management S.A. lowered its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 88.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,900 shares during the period. Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $323,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 17,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,634,000 after acquiring an additional 4,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 46.1% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG stock opened at $161.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.84. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $180.54. The stock has a market cap of $34.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.40%.

NRG Energy announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NRG shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have 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 $184.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446. Corporate insiders own 0.86% 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.