BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $90.00 to $94.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price suggests a potential upside of 6.27% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $88.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.79. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $41.57 and a 12 month high of $96.40. The company has a market cap of $18.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 1.10.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $1.82. The company had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 43.69% and a net margin of 7.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total value of $8,244,151.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,688. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in NRG Energy by 4.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 885.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 237,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,073,000 after acquiring an additional 213,347 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in NRG Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management bought a new position in NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $250,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in NRG Energy by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the period. 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.