Allworth Financial LP Increases Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NRG. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter worth $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $166.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.45 and a beta of 1.16. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $180.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The firm had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy announced that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.31%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total transaction of $3,276,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. This trade represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.31.

NRG Energy Profile

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.