NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Trading Up 3.2%

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)’s stock price was up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $84.41 and last traded at $84.41. Approximately 49,459 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 99% from the average daily volume of 3,364,447 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on NRG shares. StockNews.com cut NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NRG Energy from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.75.

NRG Energy Trading Up 3.2 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $78.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.11. The company has a market capitalization of $17.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.18.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $1.82. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 43.69% and a net margin of 7.19%. The business had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. NRG Energy’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 23.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the first quarter worth $33,000. 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.