NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Buy Rating

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $113.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock, up from their prior target price of $93.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.71.

NRG Energy Trading Up 8.8 %

Shares of NYSE NRG traded up $8.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.96. 2,577,913 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,254,744. 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 has a 12-month low of $45.46 and a 12-month high of $102.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.25. The firm has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.10.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.4075 dividend. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. NRG Energy's payout ratio is 40.95%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total value of $8,244,151.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,688. The trade was a 38.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $217,671,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 32,962.3% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $95,901,000 after buying an additional 1,049,521 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter worth $53,773,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $124,318,000 after purchasing an additional 633,765 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 352.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 804,801 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,317,000 after buying an additional 627,121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.