NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of NRG Energy worth $12,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.71.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG stock opened at $103.39 on Tuesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $115.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.22%.

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.