Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Buys 10,500 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. grew its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,500 shares during the quarter. NRG Energy accounts for about 1.4% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $4,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,225,000 after buying an additional 313,478 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,820,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,948,000 after acquiring an additional 24,834 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,639,000 after acquiring an additional 182,481 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 1,010.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,417,057 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.71.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $112.26 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 1.32 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.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value 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 $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.