Scalar Gauge Management LLC Acquires New Position in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Scalar Gauge Management LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,915,000. NRG Energy makes up about 1.5% of Scalar Gauge Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NRG. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research cut NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.45.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.5%

NRG Energy stock opened at $149.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42 and a beta of 1.25. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.57 and a 12 month high of $180.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45.

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

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 26.31%.

NRG Energy declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total value of $7,461,667.84. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 46,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. The trade was a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total value of $3,276,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at $7,075,549.62. The trade was a 31.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846. Corporate insiders own 0.61% 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.