NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 43.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,319 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $6,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,225,000 after buying an additional 313,478 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in NRG Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,820,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,948,000 after acquiring an additional 24,834 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 7.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,639,000 after purchasing an additional 182,481 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 1,010.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,330,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $121,227,000 after purchasing an additional 456,573 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $113.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.57 and a 12-month high of $115.38. The company has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.37.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 44.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on NRG shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.71.

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.