AlphaQuest LLC Reduces Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,320 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 5,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in NRG Energy by 301.3% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 4,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This trade represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846 in the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research cut NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.91.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG opened at $155.82 on Tuesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $180.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $156.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.83. The company has a market cap of $33.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 28.40%.

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.