Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 41,094 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,374,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 41,094 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.68% of NRG Energy worth $123,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,481,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 4.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

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NRG Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

NRG traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.05. 2,403,211 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,083,958. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.11 and a 12-month 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $101.75 and a 200 day moving average of $95.69.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a positive change from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.29.

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.