Meeder Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 75.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,285 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,225,000 after purchasing an additional 313,478 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $255,142,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $242,639,000 after acquiring an additional 182,481 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP grew its position in NRG Energy by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,749,000 after acquiring an additional 815,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 1,010.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,057 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.29.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $95.62 on Tuesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.11 and a 1-year high of $117.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $101.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.92%.

About NRG Energy

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.