Viking Fund Management LLC Buys 7,000 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $5,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviva PLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 9.7% during 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 NRG Energy by 68.2% in the second 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 during the period. Trek Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,368,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. The trade was a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Up 1.0%

NRG opened at $156.12 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.38 and a 200-day moving average of $159.76. The company has a market capitalization of $29.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34 and a beta of 1.26. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $180.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 103.57%. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

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

NRG Energy announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Profile

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.