NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.43.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $102.65 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.17 and a 200-day moving average of $89.47. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy has a 1-year low of $51.26 and a 1-year high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.95%.

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.