Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd cut its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 72.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,844 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $323,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 7.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 17,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 37.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 7,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $178.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $159.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.39 and a beta of 1.27. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.57 and a 12 month high of $189.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.22%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.67.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at $12,391,254.32. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.