Aventail Capital Group LP Sells 84,400 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Aventail Capital Group LP decreased its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 439,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 84,400 shares during the period. NRG Energy accounts for 3.3% of Aventail Capital Group LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Aventail Capital Group LP owned approximately 0.23% of NRG Energy worth $71,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 52.2% in the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 5,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in NRG Energy by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 136,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,042,000 after purchasing an additional 12,345 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,368,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,671,000 after purchasing an additional 409,776 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 93.0% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 32,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,238,000 after purchasing an additional 15,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,537,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy 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 transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 39.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG opened at $152.75 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $189.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a PE ratio of 38.77 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.64.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.475 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NRG. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut NRG Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.33.

NRG Energy 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.