Elisabeth Donohue, a director at NRG Energy (NRG), recently added 2,500 shares. The buy increased her holdings by 16 percent, and came to a total cost of $78,300. She was joined by another director who bought 3,500 shares, paying just under $108,000 to increase his holdings by about 4 percent.
A third director also bought 1,571 shares, paying just over $49,000. That’s on top of a further series of insider buys recently, including a 15,000 share pickup from the President and CEO.
Going back further, the track record is a bit more mixed. Company insiders own about 0.9 percent of shares.
The Texas based utility is down about 22 percent over the past year, performing just slightly worse than the overall stock market. Earnings have slid in the most recent quarter, although revenues are up 29 percent compared to the prior year.
Action to take: Investors may like shares going forward. High energy prices have weighed on costs, but revenues are now rising to compensate for those rising costs. And shares yield about 4.5 percent at today’s prices, with a low payout ratio leaving plenty of room for future growth.
For traders, shares have slid to 52-week lows in recent sessions. That can likely recover in time. The January 2024 $35 calls, last going for about $3.40, have a year to play out. They offer high-double-digit returns, especially on a share price rebound next year.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.