Meyer Handelman Co. Increases Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 101,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,727 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $16,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 9.7% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 155,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,953,000 after purchasing an additional 13,757 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 251,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,364,000 after buying an additional 101,922 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $418,000. Trek Financial LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,368,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total value of $3,276,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. The trade was a 31.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $160.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.82. 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 fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $180.54. The company has a market cap of $30.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05 and a beta of 1.26.

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

NRG Energy declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated 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 on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.21.

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.