Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Grows Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 87.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,343 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy during 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 Price Performance

NRG stock opened at $112.16 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $99.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.07. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.42 and a 1 year high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.22%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

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 approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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 raised their target price on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.43.

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.