NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) CFO Sells $1,209,503.43 in Stock

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) CFO Bruce Chung sold 7,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.79, for a total transaction of $1,209,503.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,534,048.70. This represents a 7.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

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

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

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

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

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 buy up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NRG. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.21.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 113.3% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,921,000 after buying an additional 767,014 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,918,000 after acquiring an additional 734,624 shares during the period. Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $98,360,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 4,470.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 614,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,521,000 after purchasing an additional 601,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $85,951,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

About NRG Energy

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.