Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Has $519,000 Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth $549,000. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 78,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,126,000 after purchasing an additional 24,062 shares during the last quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 47.8% in the third quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 520,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,426,000 after acquiring an additional 168,267 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 25.1% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 50,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,557,000 after acquiring an additional 10,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Hawaii lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 95.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 15,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 7,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $107.64 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.42 and a 52 week high of $115.38. The firm has a market cap of $21.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.43.

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.