Brian Curci Sells 60,580 Shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,053,422.19. The trade was a 39.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Brian Curci also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 6th, Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of NRG Energy stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total value of $7,461,667.84.

NRG Energy Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE NRG traded down $1.99 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $159.61. 2,038,562 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,689,287. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $164.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 1.25. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.57 and a 12-month high of $180.54.

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

NRG Energy declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 26.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in NRG Energy by 90.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.