NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lowered its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 538,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 31,058 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $48,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NRG. Citigroup increased their price target on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.14.

NRG Energy Stock Down 7.3 %

NRG opened at $105.05 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.96 and a 12 month high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $21.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $101.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.46.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.22%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy 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 transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Company Profile

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.