NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 66.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,320 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 39,253 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,921,000 after purchasing an additional 767,014 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19,997 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 36.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 887,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,501,000 after purchasing an additional 237,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 492.5% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,918,000 after purchasing an additional 734,624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 192,556 shares of company stock valued at $30,826,846. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $155.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 1.27. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year high of $180.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $156.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.83.

NRG Energy declared that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 28.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on NRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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 assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.