Morgan Stanley Increases NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Price Target to $99.00

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $86.00 to $99.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on NRG. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.71.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG opened at $105.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $51.49 and a 1 year high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 44.22%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in NRG Energy by 74.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.