NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Short Interest Down 20.5% in January

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,910,000 shares, a decline of 20.5% from the December 31st total of 11,210,000 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,870,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

NRG Energy Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE NRG traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,058,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,253,799. NRG Energy has a one year low of $51.26 and a one year high of $115.38. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $98.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.86. The stock has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NRG Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy's payout ratio is currently 40.95%.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value 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. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 203.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,189 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 22,257 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 76,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,950,000 after buying an additional 2,547 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,012,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at $1,120,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at $1,412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NRG. Citigroup upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

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.