NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.29.

Several research firms recently weighed in on NRG. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

NRG Energy Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $102.83 on Tuesday. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $65.11 and a 1 year high of $117.26. The company has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $102.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.25. 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 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 given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.92%.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 414.9% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.