NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Price Target Raised to $195.00

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $185.00 to $195.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on NRG Energy from $145.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Melius began coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $198.31.

NRG Energy Trading Down 4.4%

NYSE NRG traded down $7.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.93. 485,821 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,954,207. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.90 billion, a PE ratio of 74.63 and a beta of 1.16. 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 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year high of $180.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.58.

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

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.31%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 48,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,528,505. This represents a 18.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in NRG Energy by 90.4% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.