NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Sold by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lowered its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 380 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.14.

NRG Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $105.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $102.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The company has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.12 and a 12-month high of $117.26.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

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.