Allstate Corp Invests $546,000 in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,225,000 after buying an additional 313,478 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in NRG Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $255,142,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 7.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,639,000 after purchasing an additional 182,481 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,749,000 after purchasing an additional 815,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1,010.1% in 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 buying an additional 1,417,057 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $98.45 on Wednesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.11 and a 1-year high of $117.26. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $101.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.04. The company has a market cap of $20.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on NRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.