SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Makes New Investment in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

Key Points

• SPX Gestao purchased a new stake of 8,400 shares (~$1.36M) in NRG during Q3, joining several institutions that materially increased holdings and leaving institutional investors with about 97.72% ownership.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — two VPs sold 45,000 and 60,580 shares in early January and insiders sold 172,556 shares worth $27.55M in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with just 0.86% ownership.
• NRG recently missed EPS ($1.04 vs. $1.19) while revenue rose 13.7% to $7.75B, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.475 (annualized $1.90, ~1.2% yield), the stock is down ~3.6%, and analysts have an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $196.33 average price target.

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,360,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in NRG Energy by 113.3% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $231,921,000 after buying an additional 767,014 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $141,918,000 after purchasing an additional 734,624 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 4,470.7% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 614,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,521,000 after purchasing an additional 601,079 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $76,415,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 673,152 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $108,095,000 after buying an additional 313,482 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at $10,147,939.20. This trade represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total value of $9,796,391.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at $15,053,422.19. This trade represents a 39.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446 in the last 90 days. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NRG has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of 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 upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Evercore assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $196.33.

NRG Energy Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NRG stock opened at $154.61 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $189.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $159.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.43. The stock has a market cap of $33.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.24 and a beta of 1.26.

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

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

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

NRG Energy Company 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.

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