Brokerages Set NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Target Price at $197.54

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $198.3077.

NRG has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on NRG Energy from $145.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $172.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.93. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $180.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.90 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.34 and a 200-day moving average of $153.83.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.NRG Energy’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the utilities provider to repurchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 79.64%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,654,160.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $865,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,253 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 468.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $454,173,000 after buying an additional 6,049,247 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 772.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,342,000 after buying an additional 3,876,235 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 169.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,230,000 after buying an additional 1,771,829 shares during the period. Finally, Appaloosa LP raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 12.9% during the first quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $195,693,000 after acquiring an additional 235,000 shares during the last quarter. 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.