Amundi Acquires 217,167 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Amundi grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 76.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 501,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 217,167 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.25% of NRG Energy worth $49,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NRG. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,142,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 20,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 6,426 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth $1,312,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 4.3 %

NYSE:NRG opened at $92.40 on Thursday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.14 and a 52 week high of $117.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $102.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.30. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, 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 quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on NRG shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.