Gabelli Funds LLC Buys 28,047 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 140.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,047 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $7,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 39,253 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in NRG Energy by 772.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,342,000 after buying an additional 3,876,235 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in 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. Appaloosa LP boosted its position in NRG Energy by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $195,693,000 after acquiring an additional 235,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,481,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,388,000 after acquiring an additional 372,618 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total transaction of $3,276,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. This trade represents a 31.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Melius Research began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research cut NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Melius began coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $308.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.21.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $166.56 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $167.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.61. The company has a market cap of $31.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90 and a beta of 1.26. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.57 and a twelve month high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 4.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.