NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Sold by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lowered its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NRG. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in NRG Energy by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 5,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axecap Investments LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth $2,349,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by company insiders.

NRG Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NRG opened at $107.64 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.42 and a 1 year high of $115.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 44.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.43.

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.