Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 73,777 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $12,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 155,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,953,000 after acquiring an additional 13,757 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 251,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,364,000 after purchasing an additional 101,922 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the second quarter worth $418,000. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the second quarter worth $3,368,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $149.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $180.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.24.

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

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 26.31%.

NRG Energy declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on NRG. Scotiabank began 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 objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of 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 restated a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total transaction of $7,461,667.84. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. The trade was a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.