QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 14,882 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,882 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,921,000 after acquiring an additional 767,014 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% during the second 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. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in NRG Energy by 87.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 673,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,095,000 after purchasing an additional 313,482 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 87.2% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 529,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,036,000 after purchasing an additional 246,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in NRG Energy by 36.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 887,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,501,000 after buying an additional 237,009 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $152.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 1.25. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.57 and a twelve month high of $180.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.91 and a 200 day moving average of $160.03.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 4.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to buy up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NRG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $198.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.21.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president owned 93,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,053,422.19. The trade was a 39.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,556 shares of company stock valued at $30,826,846. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.