Flputnam Investment Management Co. Takes $4.36 Million Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 48,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,360,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,673,000 after buying an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 84.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 8,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 4,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd bought a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $451,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $105.73 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $102.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.72. The stock has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.12 and a fifty-two week high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders 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 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 35.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.14.

NRG Energy 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.