NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) VP Robert Gaudette Sells 45,000 Shares of Stock

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) VP Robert Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

NRG Energy Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $159.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.57 and a 12-month high of $180.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $164.49 and its 200-day moving average is $160.41.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 103.57%. NRG Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

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

NRG Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $198.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.21.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,437,000 after buying an additional 39,253 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in NRG Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $790,471,000 after acquiring an additional 31,238 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,921,000 after purchasing an additional 767,014 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 42.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,368,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,671,000 after purchasing an additional 409,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 7.6% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,225,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,442,000 after purchasing an additional 86,528 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.