Advisors Preferred LLC Grows Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Advisors Preferred LLC increased its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,038 shares during the quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $5,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 1,010.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,057 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 32,962.3% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,901,000 after buying an additional 1,049,521 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 352.9% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 804,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,317,000 after acquiring an additional 627,121 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 52.2% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,330,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $121,227,000 after acquiring an additional 456,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 109.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 746,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,051,000 after purchasing an additional 389,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $102.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.26 and a 52 week high of $115.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.22. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.