Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,969,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 NRG Energy by 772.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,342,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876,235 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in NRG Energy by 169.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771,829 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $195,693,000 after purchasing an additional 235,000 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 33.6% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,481,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,388,000 after buying an additional 372,618 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $168.50 on Thursday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $180.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.24 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $165.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.48.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 26.31%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $198.31.

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.