Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 194,461 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 17.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 919,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 194,461 shares during the quarter. NRG Energy makes up approximately 1.0% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.48% of NRG Energy worth $147,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NRG. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,437,000 after buying an additional 39,253 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 468.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $454,173,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049,247 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 772.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,342,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876,235 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 169.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Appaloosa LP boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $195,693,000 after purchasing an additional 235,000 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,654,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. This trade represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NRG. Melius Research started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. Melius started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.31.

NRG Energy Trading Down 4.8%

NRG stock opened at $160.62 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year high of $180.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.06 and its 200-day moving average is $157.40. The firm has a market cap of $30.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.68 and a beta of 1.16.

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

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

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.31%.

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.