NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Holdings Raised by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 45.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,437 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in NRG Energy by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:NRG opened at $144.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $156.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.80. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued 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 yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.40%.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price 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. UBS Group started 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 for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,254.32. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,075,549.62. This represents a 31.65% 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 valued at $30,826,846. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.