Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $3.59 Million Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 31.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,296 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $3,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kiker Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Stock Up 4.2%

NRG opened at $149.61 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $28.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.29. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.57 and a twelve month high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 103.57%. The company’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 business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the utilities provider to buy up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 26.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total value of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. The trade was a 50.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 192,556 shares of company stock valued at $30,826,846. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $198.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.21.

NRG Energy Profile

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.