NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 182,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,798 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $16,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Integras Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $2,748,000. Appaloosa LP lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,749,000 after purchasing an additional 815,180 shares during the last quarter. Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,413,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 217,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,586,000 after purchasing an additional 34,584 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.29.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $94.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.70. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.84 and a 12-month high of $117.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 35.92%.

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.