Lingohr Asset Management GmbH Buys 35,000 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Lingohr Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 806.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. NRG Energy makes up 1.5% of Lingohr Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $6,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service boosted its position in NRG Energy by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 599,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,057,000 after acquiring an additional 65,933 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 5,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in NRG Energy by 301.3% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 4,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at $7,075,549.62. The trade was a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total transaction of $7,461,667.84. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. This trade represents a 50.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $152.46 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79 and a beta of 1.25. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week 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.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 103.57%. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.