NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. Evercore ISI currently has $126.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $74.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.43.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

NRG opened at $110.45 on Tuesday. NRG Energy has a twelve month low of $51.26 and a twelve month high of $115.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.12 and a 200-day moving average of $88.23. The stock has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.15. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during 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.