Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires 114,871 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,167,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 114,871 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $105,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE:NRG opened at $103.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.08. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.58 and a 52 week high of $115.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 44.22%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.71.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.