NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG Position Increased by MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 58.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,344 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $3,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners raised its position in NRG Energy by 4.7% during the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 5.1% in the third quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in NRG Energy by 6.2% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Stock Up 6.7%

NRG stock opened at $172.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $156.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.94. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $180.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

NRG Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 28.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.91.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.

NRG’s generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.