Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Holdings in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 57.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 91,707 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.12% of NRG Energy worth $22,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $549,000. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 78,982 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,126,000 after purchasing an additional 24,062 shares during the last quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP grew its position in NRG Energy by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 520,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,426,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in NRG Energy by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 50,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,557,000 after buying an additional 10,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Hawaii lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 15,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 7,662 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.43.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.79. 2,597,323 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,034,412. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $98.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.66. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.26 and a 12-month high of $115.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The company has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.68%. This is an increase from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.22%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % 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 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.