Virtus Advisers LLC Reduces Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Virtus Advisers LLC reduced its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 94.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,769 shares during the quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Kiker Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 422.2% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price target on the stock. Melius started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.31.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $168.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $32.30 billion, a PE ratio of 76.28 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.93. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its 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. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. NRG Energy’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 26.31%.

NRG Energy declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 48,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,528,505. The trade was a 18.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total transaction of $3,276,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. This trade represents a 31.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Profile

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.