Highland Capital Management LLC Has $4.81 Million Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,006 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in NRG Energy by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $100.77 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $97.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.96. The company has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. 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 paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 40.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim lifted 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.43.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This 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 company insiders.

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.