Vestcor Inc Boosts Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,583 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in NRG Energy by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,225,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,442,000 after acquiring an additional 86,528 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth about $4,232,000. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 209.1% during the third quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 10,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Finally, Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in NRG Energy by 13.4% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 277,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,865,000 after buying an additional 32,672 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,053,422.19. This represents a 39.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $148.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.57 and a 12-month high of $189.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $159.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.67. The company has a market capitalization of $31.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74 and a beta of 1.26.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.22%.

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.