NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.29.

A number of brokerages recently commented on NRG. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Activity

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 stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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 NRG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in NRG Energy by 1,010.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,057 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $94,346,000. Appaloosa LP increased its stake in NRG Energy by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,749,000 after acquiring an additional 815,180 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 350.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,679,000. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NRG opened at $95.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy has a fifty-two week low of $65.11 and a fifty-two week 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $101.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.69.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.92%.

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.