Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Purchases 167 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 1,010.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,057 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 32,962.3% in 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. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 352.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 804,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,317,000 after purchasing an additional 627,121 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 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 109.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 746,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,051,000 after purchasing an additional 389,997 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NRG. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.43.

NRG Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $107.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $99.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.30.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on 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 $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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 $6,780,794.02. This 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.