AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Acquires New Shares in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 123,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,936,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of NRG Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NRG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $865,437,000 after buying an additional 39,253 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,921,000 after acquiring an additional 767,014 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 975,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,601,000 after acquiring an additional 19,997 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 valued at $142,501,000 after purchasing an additional 237,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 492.5% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,918,000 after purchasing an additional 734,624 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. The trade was a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. This represents a 50.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NRG stock opened at $153.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.99. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $180.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $158.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.80. The company has a market capitalization of $29.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96 and a beta of 1.25.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 4.84%.NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NRG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.91.

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.