NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.43.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $102.96 on Monday. 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 has a 1 year low of $51.26 and a 1 year high of $115.38. The firm has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.43.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 44.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction 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. This represents 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 3.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 76,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,950,000 after acquiring an additional 2,547 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,012,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at about $1,120,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth about $1,412,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth about $111,000. 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.