Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys 6,426 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,426 shares during the quarter. NRG Energy accounts for 0.8% of Machina Capital S.A.S.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in NRG Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $494,225,000 after acquiring an additional 313,478 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in NRG Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,820,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,948,000 after buying an additional 24,834 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in NRG Energy by 7.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $242,639,000 after buying an additional 182,481 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in NRG Energy by 1,010.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $140,504,000 after buying an additional 1,417,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in NRG Energy by 52.2% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,330,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $121,227,000 after buying an additional 456,573 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.29.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock traded up $3.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.40. 4,917,876 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,051,659. The stock's fifty day moving average is $102.22 and its 200-day moving average is $94.31. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.23 and a 12 month high of $117.26. The stock has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.