NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 40,834 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.07% of NRG Energy worth $21,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $865,437,000 after buying an additional 39,253 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 worth $231,921,000 after acquiring an additional 767,014 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in NRG Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 975,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,601,000 after acquiring an additional 19,997 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake 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 period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% during 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. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NRG shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research downgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 target price on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.73.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $173.41 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $79.57 and a 12 month high of $180.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.97. The company has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 1.27.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 28.40%.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total value of $9,796,391.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at $15,053,422.19. This represents a 39.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.