Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,167,489 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,196,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,167,489 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.13% of NRG Energy worth $4,080,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,253 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 767,014 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 975,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,601,000 after buying an additional 19,997 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in NRG Energy by 36.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 887,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,501,000 after acquiring an additional 237,009 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 492.5% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,918,000 after acquiring an additional 734,624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total transaction of $9,796,391.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at $15,053,422.19. This trade represents a 39.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG stock opened at $173.41 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.97. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $180.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 1.27.

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

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 28.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NRG. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research lowered NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price objective on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.73.

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.