Virtue Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 6,077 NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $976,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the second quarter worth $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $168.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $167.13 and a 200-day moving average of $159.03. The company has a market cap of $32.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.29 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. NRG Energy’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.31%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at $7,075,549.62. The trade was a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on NRG. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Melius Research began coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Melius began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.31.

NRG Energy Profile

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.