HB Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

HB Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,822 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NRG. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,253 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 113.3% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,921,000 after buying an additional 767,014 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in NRG Energy by 2.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 975,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,601,000 after buying an additional 19,997 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 36.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 887,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,501,000 after acquiring an additional 237,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,918,000 after acquiring an additional 734,624 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total transaction of $9,796,391.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,053,422.19. The trade was a 39.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 192,556 shares of company stock valued at $30,826,846. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.21.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $149.61 on Monday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $180.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $162.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.29. The company has a market cap of $28.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 1.25.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 103.57%. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 share repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.31%.

About NRG Energy

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.