Wright Investors Service Inc. Boosts Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,885 shares during the quarter. NRG Energy accounts for approximately 0.9% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NRG. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,225,000 after acquiring an additional 313,478 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,820,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,948,000 after purchasing an additional 24,834 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 7.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,639,000 after purchasing an additional 182,481 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 52.2% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,330,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $121,227,000 after purchasing an additional 456,573 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 32,962.3% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,521 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NRG. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.71.

NRG Energy Trading Down 2.2 %

NRG Energy stock opened at $97.23 on Tuesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.24 and a 1 year high of $103.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.05 and its 200-day moving average is $86.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.