Appaloosa LP Boosts Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Appaloosa LP increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 81.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 815,180 shares during the period. NRG Energy comprises about 2.5% of Appaloosa LP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Appaloosa LP owned about 0.90% of NRG Energy worth $163,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in NRG Energy by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $92.40 on Thursday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $117.26. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.30.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.29.

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.