NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $111.43.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $102.96 on Monday. NRG Energy has a 12-month low of $51.26 and a 12-month high of $115.38. The company has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.43. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy 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 directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 43,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 11,920 shares in the last quarter. Glaxis Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,398,000. DSC Meridian Capital LP lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. DSC Meridian Capital LP now owns 6,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 4,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.