Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 273,020 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 801,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 273,020 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.41% of NRG Energy worth $128,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 11.6% during the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 10,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,505,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $210,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the second quarter worth $272,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 355.7% during the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Scotiabank began 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 objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $198.31.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG opened at $172.15 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $79.57 and a 12-month high of $180.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $164.34 and a 200-day moving average of $153.83. The stock has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.90 and a beta of 1.16.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The firm had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 79.64%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the 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 directly owned 48,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,528,505. This represents a 18.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NRG Energy Company 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.