NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Inspire Advisors LLC

Inspire Advisors LLC reduced its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 154 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 74.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now 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. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $92.40 on Thursday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $117.26. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.30.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NRG shares. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.