Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 8,171 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 42.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,171 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,225,000 after buying an additional 313,478 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,820,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,948,000 after acquiring an additional 24,834 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 7.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,639,000 after purchasing an additional 182,481 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 1,010.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,504,000 after buying an additional 1,417,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,330,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $121,227,000 after acquiring an additional 456,573 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on NRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.43.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $110.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.26 and a 12 month high of $115.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $97.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.23.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.95%.

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.