WBI Investments LLC Purchases 5,083 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

WBI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 196.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,083 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in NRG Energy by 113.3% during 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 last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% in 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 last quarter. Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth $98,360,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 4,470.7% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 614,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,521,000 after purchasing an additional 601,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at $85,951,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $154.74 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $158.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.95. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $189.96. The stock has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.27 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

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

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on NRG. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 177,556 shares of company stock worth $28,333,696 over the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.