Inspire Advisors LLC Sells 6,788 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Inspire Advisors LLC lessened its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,788 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviva PLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 155,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,953,000 after buying an additional 13,757 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in NRG Energy by 68.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 251,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,364,000 after purchasing an additional 101,922 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $418,000. Trek Financial LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,368,000. Finally, First American Bank purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,983,000. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Down 4.1%

NRG opened at $152.05 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $180.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.98. The company has a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 1.25.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 4.84%.The company had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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 fiscal year.

NRG Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $198.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total transaction of $9,796,391.80. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,053,422.19. This represents a 39.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,147,939.20. This trade represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.