Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC Buys Shares of 60,000 NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 60,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,413,000. NRG Energy comprises approximately 2.1% of Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 6.2% during 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. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,142,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 182,481 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew 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 buying an additional 1,417,057 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew 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 buying an additional 456,573 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $92.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a PEG 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 $62.14 and a 1-year high of $117.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $102.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.30.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. 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 is currently 35.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.29.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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 $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.