Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 197,307 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 639,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,307 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of NRG Energy worth $103,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NRG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $323,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 7.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 17,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 10.8% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at $7,324,588.92. This represents a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.91.

NRG Energy Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $149.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34 and a beta of 1.25. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.57 and a 12-month high of $180.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.02.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion for 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.40%.

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.