Empirical Finance LLC Sells 112 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Empirical Finance LLC lowered its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth $211,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $369,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,155,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $128,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $105.24 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $98.70 and its 200-day moving average is $90.66. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.26 and a 1-year high of $115.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock has a market cap of $21.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 44.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.43.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents 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.

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.