Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires 114,871 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,167,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 114,871 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.58% of NRG Energy worth $105,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NRG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 352.9% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in 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 worth $121,227,000 after acquiring an additional 456,573 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 109.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 746,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,051,000 after acquiring an additional 389,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 313,478 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.71.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG opened at $103.39 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.08. The stock has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.58 and a 52 week high of $115.38.

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 given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.22%.

NRG Energy Company 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.