Guggenheim Issues Positive Forecast for NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock Price

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its target price lifted by Guggenheim from $134.00 to $145.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

NRG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.14.

NRG Energy Trading Down 7.3 %

NYSE NRG opened at $105.05 on Thursday. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $52.96 and a 12 month high of $117.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $101.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.46. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 44.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NRG. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 27,231.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 146,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,371,000 after purchasing an additional 146,233 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 5.7% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 4.8% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 72.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 91,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,334,000 after purchasing an additional 38,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.