NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Shares Down 13.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) dropped 13.5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $97.12 and last traded at $97.23. Approximately 1,379,996 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 3,166,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NRG. Evercore ISI raised 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 note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.43.

NRG Energy Trading Down 14.1 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.60. The stock has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,952,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.