NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $113.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $93.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.71.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG stock opened at $98.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, 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 quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $46.23 and a 1 year high of $102.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.48.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 approximately $13,151,688. The trade was a 38.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 104.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 73,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 37,750 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 65.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,318,000 after acquiring an additional 633,765 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $746,000. Bank of Hawaii lifted its position in NRG Energy by 95.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 15,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 7,662 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 169.3% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 263,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,042,000 after purchasing an additional 165,912 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.