Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $256,000 Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 307.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 358,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,636,000 after purchasing an additional 270,234 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 78.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 569,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,851,000 after purchasing an additional 250,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 49,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,501,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $98.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.50 and a 52 week high of $117.26. The firm has a market cap of $19.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.41 and its 200-day moving average is $94.04.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 35.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on NRG. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.29.

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.