Changes in Capital Structure

As of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company had 500,000,000 shares of common stock authorized. The following table reflects the changes in NRG's common stock issued and outstanding:



	Issued	Treasury		Outstanding
Balance as of December 31, 2018	420,288,886	(136,638,847	)	283,650,039
Shares issued under LTIPs	1,497,175	—		1,497,175
Shares repurchased	—	(17,608,957	)	(17,608,957	)
Balance as of March 31, 2019	421,786,061	(154,247,804	)	267,538,257

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

In March 2019, the Company reopened participation in the ESPP, which allows eligible employees to elect to withhold between 1% and 10% of their eligible compensation to purchase shares of NRG common stock at the lesser of 95% of its market value on the offering date or 95% of the fair market value on the exercise date. An offering date will occur each April 1 and October 1. An exercise date will occur each September 30 and March 31.

Share Repurchases

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company completed $250 million share repurchases in connection with the 2018 share repurchase program. In addition, in February 2019, the Company's board of directors authorized an additional $1.0 billion share repurchase program to be executed in 2019. The Company completed $500 million of share repurchases at an average price of $42.21 per share under the 2019 program through May 2, 2019.

On February 28, 2019, the Company executed an accelerated share repurchase agreement, or ASR Agreement, with a financial institution to repurchase a total of $400 million of outstanding common stock based on a volume weighted average price. The Company received initial shares of 9,086,903, which were recorded in treasury stock at fair value based on the closing price on March 12, 2019, of $390 million, with the remaining $10 million recorded in additional paid in capital, representing the value of the forward contract to purchase additional shares. In April 2019, the financial institution delivered the remaining shares pursuant to the ASR agreement and the Company received 351,768 additional shares. The average price paid for all the shares delivered under the ASR Agreement was $42.38 per share. Upon receipt of the additional shares in April 2019, the Company transferred the $10 million from additional paid in capital to treasury stock.

The following repurchases have been made during the three months ended March 31, 2019 and through May 2, 2019:



	Total number of shares purchased	Amounts paid for shares purchased (in millions)
Board Authorized Share Repurchases
2018 program:
Repurchases made during January-February to complete the 2018 program	6,153,415	$	250
2019 program:
Shares repurchased under February 28, 2019 Accelerated Share Repurchase Agreement	9,086,903	400
March repurchases	2,368,639	99
Total Share Repurchases during the three months ended March 31, 2019	17,608,957	$	749
Additional shares delivered upon ASR settlement in April	351,768	—
April repurchases	39,140	1
Total Share Repurchases during the period ended May 2, 2019	17,999,865	$	750

NRG Common Stock Dividends

A quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share was paid on the Company's common stock during the three months ended March 31, 2019. On April 8, 2019, NRG declared a quarterly dividend on the Company's common stock of $0.03 per share, payable May 15, 2019, to stockholders of record as of May 1, 2019, representing $0.12 per share on an annualized basis.

The Company's common stock dividends are subject to available capital, market conditions, and compliance with associated laws, regulations and other contractual obligations.