NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG is Luxor Capital Group LP’s 4th Largest Position

Luxor Capital Group LP grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 100.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 397,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 199,313 shares during the period. NRG Energy comprises approximately 3.0% of Luxor Capital Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Luxor Capital Group LP owned about 0.21% of NRG Energy worth $64,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 0.6% during 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 raised its stake 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 period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 42.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,368,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,671,000 after purchasing an additional 409,776 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 7.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 975,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,601,000 after purchasing an additional 19,997 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NRG stock opened at $152.66 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.89. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $189.96. The stock has a market cap of $32.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. 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 presently 48.22%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total transaction of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at $7,324,588.92. This trade represents a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.33.

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.