BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock Price

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on NRG. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.29.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $100.13 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy has a 1-year low of $55.96 and a 1-year high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.92.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid 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 1.76%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 35.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade 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 Trading of NRG Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $549,000. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 78,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,126,000 after purchasing an additional 24,062 shares during the period. Luxor Capital Group LP lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 520,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,426,000 after buying an additional 168,267 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 50,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,557,000 after buying an additional 10,031 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Hawaii grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 15,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 7,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.