Lonestar Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 33,000 NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)

Lonestar Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 33,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,977,000. NRG Energy comprises about 1.1% of Lonestar Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NRG. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP raised its stake in NRG Energy by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $163,749,000 after purchasing an additional 815,180 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,417,057 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 4.2% in 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 buying an additional 56,944 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,374,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,984,000 after acquiring an additional 41,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NRG. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.00.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG traded up $4.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $114.18. 3,092,438 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,028,475. The stock has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $117.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. NRG Energy's payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

About NRG Energy

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.