Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 5,816 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in NRG Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,481,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.29.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $102.26 on Wednesday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.11 and a 52 week high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.43. The firm has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 35.92%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, 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 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 $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.