Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Takes $204,000 Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 104.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 73,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,000,000 after acquiring an additional 37,750 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in NRG Energy by 65.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,318,000 after purchasing an additional 633,765 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $746,000. NatWest Group plc increased its position in NRG Energy by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 79,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,618 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 458,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,800,000 after buying an additional 69,047 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $91.92 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.25. NRG Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.46 and a twelve month high of $102.84.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 163,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,688. This trade represents a 38.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

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.