Fred Alger Management LLC Boosts Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management increased its stake in NRG Energy by 865.7% in Q3, adding 427,390 shares to hold 476,760 shares (≈0.25% of the company) valued at $77.21 million.
• NRG's recent quarter missed EPS ($1.04 vs. $1.19 expected) but revenue beat ($7.75B vs. $6.68B), up 13.7% YoY, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.475 ($1.90 annualized, ~1.2% yield).

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 865.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 476,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 427,390 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned about 0.25% of NRG Energy worth $77,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NRG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $323,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in NRG Energy by 7.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in NRG Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 17,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in NRG Energy by 42.2% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,078 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NRG opened at $152.75 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year high of $189.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $159.01 and a 200 day moving average of $161.86.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.NRG Energy's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy's payout ratio is currently 48.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total transaction of $9,796,391.80. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 93,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,053,422.19. This represents a 39.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446 in the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on NRG. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $197.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price objective on NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $196.33.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NRG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.