California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Stock Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 438,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,545 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $22,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3,477.2% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 976,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,618,000 after acquiring an additional 949,289 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 486.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 900,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,688,000 after acquiring an additional 746,899 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 105.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,346,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,642,000 after acquiring an additional 689,941 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 91.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,318,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,770,000 after acquiring an additional 629,993 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 139.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 913,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,178,000 after acquiring an additional 532,320 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.59, for a total value of $3,072,668.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 356,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,342,251.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $72.81 on Monday. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.52 and a 52 week high of $76.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.37.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. NRG Energy had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a positive return on equity of 44.03%. On average, equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -152.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of NRG Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.50.

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.