HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 11,920 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 37.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,920 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $3,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glaxis Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $1,398,000. DSC Meridian Capital LP boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. DSC Meridian Capital LP now owns 6,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 4,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.29.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $99.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. 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 1-year low of $65.11 and a 1-year high of $117.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $102.09 and its 200 day moving average is $94.76.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. 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 currently 35.92%.

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.