6,611 Shares in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Bought by Capital Planning Advisors LLC

Capital Planning Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in 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 buying an additional 767,014 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $141,918,000 after acquiring an additional 734,624 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 4,470.7% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 614,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,521,000 after acquiring an additional 601,079 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $76,415,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 673,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,095,000 after purchasing an additional 313,482 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This trade represents a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.91.

NRG Energy Stock Up 6.7%

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $172.60 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80 and a beta of 1.27. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $180.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $156.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.90.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 28.40%.

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.