Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 500,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,999 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $45,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,225,000 after acquiring an additional 313,478 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd 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. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,639,000 after acquiring an additional 182,481 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1,010.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased 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 acquiring an additional 456,573 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.1 %

NRG Energy stock opened at $111.14 on Friday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.49 and a twelve month high of $115.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NRG. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. The trade was 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 owned by 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.