Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 3,329 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,329 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NRG. Viking Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 30,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 110,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,982,000 after buying an additional 19,161 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in NRG Energy by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 27,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,491,000 after buying an additional 8,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in NRG Energy by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, 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. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $101.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $98.39 and its 200 day moving average is $89.86. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.26 and a 52 week high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 40.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.43.

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.