J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Has $1.71 Million Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 9.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $244,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $835,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 26.1% in the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 183,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,482,000 after acquiring an additional 38,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $168.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.30 billion, a PE ratio of 76.28 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.93. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.57 and a twelve month high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 26.31%.

NRG Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total transaction of $3,276,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,075,549.62. This trade represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the business’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 owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at $7,528,505. This represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.