State of Wyoming Has $2.56 Million Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

State of Wyoming grew its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 537.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,459 shares during the period. NRG Energy makes up approximately 0.3% of State of Wyoming’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. State of Wyoming’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NRG. Aviva PLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 9.7% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 155,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,953,000 after purchasing an additional 13,757 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 251,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,364,000 after buying an additional 101,922 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $418,000. Trek Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,368,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at about $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Down 5.4%

NYSE NRG opened at $161.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.79. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $180.54. The firm has a market cap of $30.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

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

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total transaction of $3,276,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. This represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on NRG. Melius initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, December 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Two research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.21.

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.