NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Acquired by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,120,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,823 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $101,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 414.9% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NRG. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $95.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $101.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.69. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.11 and a 52-week high of $117.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 35.92%.

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.