Sunpointe LLC Buys New Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Sunpointe LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $951,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NRG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in NRG Energy by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $865,437,000 after acquiring an additional 39,253 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP grew 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 worth $231,921,000 after purchasing an additional 767,014 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 975,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,601,000 after purchasing an additional 19,997 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 36.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 887,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,501,000 after buying an additional 237,009 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased 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 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NRG. UBS Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $197.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% 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. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% 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 worth $27,550,446 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $160.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year high of $189.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.97 and a 200-day moving average of $161.40.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.22%.

NRG Energy announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.