NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Shares Bought by Maven Securities LTD

Maven Securities LTD increased its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 156.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,211 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 113.3% during the second 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. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 734,624 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $98,360,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 4,470.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 614,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,521,000 after buying an additional 601,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $85,951,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $154.74 on Wednesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $189.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.27 and a beta of 1.26.

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). NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total value of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 46,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,324,588.92. This trade represents a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at $10,147,939.20. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,556 shares of company stock worth $28,333,696. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.