Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 18,179 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 396,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,179 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.20% of NRG Energy worth $64,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NRG. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 0.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew 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 last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake 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 valued at $156,601,000 after buying an additional 19,997 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 887,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,501,000 after buying an additional 237,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in NRG Energy by 492.5% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,918,000 after buying an additional 734,624 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG opened at $178.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.07. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.57 and a 12 month high of $189.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.39 and a beta of 1.27.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted 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 business had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 48.22%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NRG. Weiss Ratings cut shares of NRG Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.67.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of NRG Energy 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446 in the last quarter. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.