Renaissance Group LLC Purchases 206,389 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Renaissance Group LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 3,550.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 212,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 206,389 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $34,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 90.4% during the third 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 bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $153.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. The company has a market cap of $32.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.91 and a beta of 1.27. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.57 and a twelve month high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total value of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at $7,324,588.92. This trade represents a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the business’s 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 owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Finally, Zacks Research cut NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.91.

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.