NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Guggenheim Analyst Says

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its price objective boosted by Guggenheim from $134.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

NRG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.14.

NRG Energy Trading Down 7.3 %

NYSE:NRG opened at $105.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $52.96 and a 52-week high of $117.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $101.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 44.22%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 27,231.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 146,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,371,000 after buying an additional 146,233 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,184,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 91,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,334,000 after buying an additional 38,286 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.