Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 22,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $2,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $255,142,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Appaloosa LP boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,749,000 after buying an additional 815,180 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1,010.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,057 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,414,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,614,000 after acquiring an additional 56,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,374,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,984,000 after acquiring an additional 41,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NRG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $129.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

NRG Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

NRG opened at $94.44 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.83 and a 200 day moving average of $96.42. 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 $65.11 and a 12 month high of $117.26. The company has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.92%.

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.