NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.29.

Several research firms recently commented on NRG. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.3% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,481,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NRG opened at $95.05 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.69. The stock has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $117.26.

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 paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

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.