Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 5,816 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,816 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $430,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in NRG Energy by 350.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 904,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,583,000 after purchasing an additional 703,481 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 89,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 53,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,940,000 after buying an additional 8,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 50,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,531,000 after buying an additional 1,409 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG opened at $102.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $102.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.43. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.11 and a 1 year high of $117.26.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NRG shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy 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.