NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.29.

NRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $94.86 on Wednesday. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $44.90 and a 12 month high of $102.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.14 and a 200 day moving average of $82.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 40.95%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 163,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,151,688. This trade represents a 38.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in NRG Energy by 148.6% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 21,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after purchasing an additional 13,040 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 104.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 73,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,000,000 after buying an additional 37,750 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 65.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,318,000 after purchasing an additional 633,765 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $746,000. Finally, NatWest Group plc grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 79,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,618 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.