Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $3.91 Million Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,976 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $3,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 32.3% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 15,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,373,000 after buying an additional 5,819 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in NRG Energy by 124.7% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 19,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after acquiring an additional 10,782 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $92.40 on Thursday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $117.26. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $102.26 and its 200-day moving average is $94.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued 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 was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.29.

NRG Energy Company 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.