NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,118 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,190 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $7,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NRG. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the second quarter worth about $37,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 46,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. This trade represents a 50.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at $12,391,254.32. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.91.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:NRG opened at $152.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 4.84%.The business had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 26.31%.

NRG Energy Company 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.