Analysts Set NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Price Target at $121.14

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.29.

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth $549,000. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 78,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,126,000 after acquiring an additional 24,062 shares during the period. Luxor Capital Group LP grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 47.8% during the third quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 520,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,426,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in NRG Energy by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 50,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,557,000 after purchasing an additional 10,031 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Hawaii lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 95.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Trading Down 7.7 %

NRG Energy stock opened at $91.07 on Friday. NRG Energy has a one year low of $59.50 and a one year high of $117.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $102.52 and its 200 day moving average is $94.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 35.92%.

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.