Short Interest in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Drops By 19.2%

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) saw a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,960,000 shares, a drop of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 8,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents 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 Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in NRG Energy by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 414.9% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NRG traded up $3.62 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.30. 2,337,427 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,938,558. 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 $65.11 and a 1-year high of $117.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.72. The firm has a market cap of $20.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 35.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.29.

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.