Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 1,006 Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,006 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter worth $35,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NRG shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.43.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $100.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.96. NRG Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $51.26 and a one year high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.95%.

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.