NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $113.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $93.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup upped 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 research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.71.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $101.61 on Tuesday. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $46.74 and a 52-week high of $103.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.59.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 40.95%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total value of $8,244,151.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,688. This trade represents a 38.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.