Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 3,970 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $8,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi raised its stake in NRG Energy by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 501,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,446,000 after purchasing an additional 217,167 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $83,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,142,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 20,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 6,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on NRG shares. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.29.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $91.17 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $102.26 and a 200-day moving average of $94.30. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.40 and a 1 year high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

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 paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

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.