Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 5,616 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. decreased its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,616 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $588,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $865,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,253 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in NRG Energy by 468.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $454,173,000 after buying an additional 6,049,247 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 772.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,342,000 after buying an additional 3,876,235 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 169.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Appaloosa LP increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 12.9% in the first quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $195,693,000 after acquiring an additional 235,000 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $166.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.29. The stock has a market cap of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.45 and a beta of 1.16. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year high of $180.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 buy up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,654,160.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 48,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,528,505. This represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total value of $3,276,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,075,549.62. This represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NRG. Melius assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.31.

NRG Energy Company 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.