Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Sells 3,774 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,774 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's holdings in NRG Energy were worth $618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in NRG Energy by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NRG shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.43.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG traded down $2.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $102.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,897,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,468,373. The company has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.15. The company's fifty day moving average price is $98.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.26. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.26 and a 52-week high of $115.38. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.95%.

About NRG Energy

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.