48,324 Shares in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Bought by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 48,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,360,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 1,010.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,057 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 32,962.3% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,521 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 352.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 804,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,317,000 after purchasing an additional 627,121 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,330,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $121,227,000 after purchasing an additional 456,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 109.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 746,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,051,000 after purchasing an additional 389,997 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

NRG Energy stock opened at $105.73 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.12 and a 52 week high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.72.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.66%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.