Caprock Group LLC Acquires Shares of 6,848 NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 34.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 73,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,904,000 after acquiring an additional 18,981 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in NRG Energy by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 127.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 295,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,852,000 after buying an additional 162,874 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Trading Up 6.7%

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $172.60 on Monday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $180.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.90. The company has a market cap of $37.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45.

NRG Energy declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.40%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total transaction of $9,796,391.80. Following the sale, the vice president owned 93,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,053,422.19. This trade represents a 39.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on NRG. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.91.

About NRG Energy

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.