Share Buyback Plan Announced by NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Board

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to buy up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock traded down $4.30 on Thursday, hitting $168.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,293,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,968,022. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $180.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.28. The company has a market capitalization of $32.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.42 and a beta of 1.16.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 79.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $145.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $198.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, October 20th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $197.54.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,528,505. This represents a 18.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

About NRG Energy

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.