Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Lowers Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lessened its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,741 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake 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 worth $140,504,000 after buying an additional 1,417,057 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 32,962.3% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,521 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in NRG Energy by 352.9% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 804,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,317,000 after acquiring an additional 627,121 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 52.2% during the third 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. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 109.2% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 746,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,051,000 after purchasing an additional 389,997 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NRG opened at $105.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.66. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.26 and a 52-week high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 44.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 value 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. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, 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 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.