Korea Investment CORP Acquires 32,672 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 277,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 32,672 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $44,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,253 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 113.3% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,921,000 after purchasing an additional 767,014 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 975,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,601,000 after purchasing an additional 19,997 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 887,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,501,000 after buying an additional 237,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 492.5% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,918,000 after buying an additional 734,624 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total value of $7,461,667.84. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at $7,324,588.92. This trade represents a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG stock opened at $154.61 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.62. The stock has a market cap of $33.12 billion, a PE ratio of 39.24 and a beta of 1.26. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $189.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.22%.

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.