Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $429,000 Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter worth $43,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 414.9% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim increased their price target on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.29.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $100.63 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.11 and a 12-month high of $117.26. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.12 and a 200-day moving average of $95.08.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 35.92%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by 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.