Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 362,288 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 13.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,350,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 362,288 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $380,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 32.1% in the second quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total value of $9,796,391.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,053,422.19. This 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 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $160.58 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.40. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.57 and a 12-month high of $189.96. The firm has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a PE ratio of 40.76 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. 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. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.67.

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.