Vontobel Holding Ltd. Acquires 3,398 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 77.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,398 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Kiker Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, December 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Scotiabank started coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.21.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. The trade was a 31.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $160.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.57 and a 12-month high of $180.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.90.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 4.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

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

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to buy up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.