Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 2,309 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 97.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 155,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,953,000 after acquiring an additional 13,757 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at $244,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at about $835,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 68.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 251,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,364,000 after purchasing an additional 101,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 183,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,482,000 after buying an additional 38,003 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,528,505. This represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total value of $3,276,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. This trade represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.31.

NRG Energy Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $165.83 on Tuesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $180.54. The company has a market capitalization of $31.78 billion, a PE ratio of 75.04 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $167.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy announced 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 reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.31%.

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.