Ethos Financial Group LLC Invests $90,000 in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG opened at $88.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.05. The stock has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.50 and a 12 month high of $117.26.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 35.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Guggenheim increased their price target on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.29.

NRG Energy 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.