NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $117.44 and last traded at $113.44, with a volume of 18491 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $113.33.

A number of other analysts have also commented on NRG. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NRG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,417,057 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 32,962.3% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,521 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,346,000. Appaloosa LP raised its stake in NRG Energy by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,749,000 after purchasing an additional 815,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in NRG Energy by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 904,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,583,000 after acquiring an additional 703,481 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Price Performance

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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.22%.

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.