NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

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

NRG Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

NRG opened at $107.64 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.78. 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 company has a market cap of $21.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.42 and a 52 week high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.22%.

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.