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

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 43.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 76,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying 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.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 10.6 %

Shares of NRG opened at $113.33 on Thursday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.57 and a twelve month high of $115.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.37.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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 owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.