State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 1,200 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $4,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 32.3% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in NRG Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 44,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,020,000 after buying an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 9,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 4,455 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 23.6% during the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 1,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG stock opened at $91.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.07. The stock has a market cap of $18.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $59.50 and a one year high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 35.92%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.29.

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.