Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $9.85 Million Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 61,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,882 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $9,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in NRG Energy during the first quarter worth $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total transaction of $3,276,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. This represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $168.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.67. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $180.54. 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 (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 103.57%. 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 company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 26.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NRG shares. Zacks Research cut shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Melius began coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.21.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.