(Bloomberg) -- Elliott Investment Management LP called on RWE AG to ramp up buybacks after amassing a stake of close to 5% in the German utility.

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“We share the market’s disappointment with the lack of clarity regarding the company’s commitment to enhance shareholder returns,” Elliott said in a statement. “There is a compelling opportunity to significantly increase and accelerate the ongoing share buyback program.”

RWE has been under pressure from investors due to its falling share price and its focus on a huge investment program. When presenting earnings last week, the firm signaled it was keeping the option open for further share purchases, after already announcing a €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) buyback last November.

An increasingly uncertain environment for renewables investments has forced RWE to put some of its previous spending plans on hold. Last week, it shaved €10 billion from its planned investment on green technologies by the end of the decade — particularly citing risks in the US following President Donald Trump’s election.

Bloomberg reported in November that Elliott had built up a sizable stake in RWE and was pushing management to consider a buyback.

RWE’s capital expenditure cuts and offshore wind disposals could allow for further share purchases totaling €2.5 billion from 2025 to 2027, according to Ahmed Farman, an analyst at Jefferies International Ltd. “In our high scenario, we estimate buybacks could reach €4 billion,” he wrote in a report last week.

Elliott, one of the world’s most aggressive activist investors, has been snapping up stakes in several large energy companies to push for changes. It recently acquired an interest in BP Plc and revealed a stake of more than $2.5 billion in Phillips 66.

On Monday, Elliott welcomed RWE’s decision to reduce its 2025-2030 spending program, while also implementing stricter investment criteria and accelerating a strategy to divest stakes in projects. RWE’s shares jumped as much as 3% following the statement.

(Update with analyst quote in sixth paragraph and share moves in last paragraph.)

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