Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Purchases 1,500 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 83.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% during 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 414.9% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $95.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $102.17 and a 200-day moving average of $94.43. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.84 and a 52 week high of $117.26. The company has a market capitalization of $19.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.85%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 35.92%.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on NRG. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.