Ballentine Partners LLC Grows Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $112.31 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.26 and a 1-year high of $115.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. 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 1.57%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 40.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.