NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Coverage Initiated at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $129.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim raised their target price on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

NRG Energy Stock Down 10.1 %

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $83.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.23 and a 200 day moving average of $96.28. NRG Energy has a 12-month low of $65.11 and a 12-month high of $117.26. The stock has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta 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 paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in NRG Energy by 100.4% in the 4th 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. purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 414.9% during 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. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 221.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.