NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by Private Advisory Group LLC

Private Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 39.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,601 shares during the period. Private Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,921,000 after acquiring an additional 767,014 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,918,000 after acquiring an additional 734,624 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 4,470.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 614,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,521,000 after buying an additional 601,079 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $76,415,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 673,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $108,095,000 after purchasing an additional 313,482 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares in the company, 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 link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,147,939.20. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $179.17 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $156.86 and a 200-day moving average of $160.19. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $180.54.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 28.40%.

NRG Energy announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.