NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Purchased by Legacy Capital Group California Inc.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NRG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.71.

NRG Energy Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $105.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.60. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.49 and a 52-week high of $115.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 44.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.