Capital Planning Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Capital Planning Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 6,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 7.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 60,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,834,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $76,415,000. Glaxis Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $567,000. Affinity Wealth Management LLC grew its position in NRG Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,117,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its position in NRG Energy by 58.1% in the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 7,344 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were 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 owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total value of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 46,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. The trade was a 50.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Up 6.7%

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $172.60 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $37.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80 and a beta of 1.27. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.57 and a twelve month high of $180.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $156.04 and its 200 day moving average is $159.90.

NRG Energy declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to buy up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.91.

NRG Energy Company 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.