NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Shares Down 13.5% – What’s Next?

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)’s share price fell 13.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $97.12 and last traded at $97.23. 1,379,996 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 3,166,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim raised their target price on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.43.

NRG Energy Trading Down 14.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.15. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $97.53 and a 200 day moving average of $88.60.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,481,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 4.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC grew its position in NRG Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in NRG Energy by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.