ING Groep NV Has $11.90 Million Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,981 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $11,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,921,000 after purchasing an additional 767,014 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 492.5% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,918,000 after buying an additional 734,624 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 4,470.7% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 614,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,521,000 after buying an additional 601,079 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 87.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 673,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $108,095,000 after buying an additional 313,482 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 87.2% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 529,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,036,000 after acquiring an additional 246,741 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Stock Up 2.7%

NRG stock opened at $160.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $34.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $156.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

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

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.91.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total value of $3,276,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at $7,075,549.62. This represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.