NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.29.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Remove Ads

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 1,010.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $140,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,057 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,346,000. Appaloosa LP boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 81.5% in the 4th 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. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 904,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,583,000 after buying an additional 703,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,679,000. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $95.05. The company had a trading volume of 2,403,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,081,917. The firm has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $101.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.45. NRG Energy has a one year low of $65.11 and a one year high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.