Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,120,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 49,823 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.55% of NRG Energy worth $101,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in NRG Energy by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 684,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,065,000 after buying an additional 174,544 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,139,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $546,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 135,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,219,000 after acquiring an additional 10,866 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy 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 transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, 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 currently owned by company insiders.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $95.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap 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 one year low of $65.11 and a one year high of $117.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $101.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.69. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Guggenheim raised their price target on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.