Guggenheim Boosts NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Price Target to $118.00

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its target price increased by Guggenheim from $77.00 to $118.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NRG Energy from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a hold rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $83.25.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NRG stock opened at $87.61 on Tuesday. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $39.98 and a 12 month high of $96.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The firm has a market cap of $18.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.26 and a 200-day moving average of $79.01.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $1.82. The firm had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 43.69%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 17.76%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,688. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 93.1% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 357,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,489,000 after purchasing an additional 172,400 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 885.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 237,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,073,000 after buying an additional 213,347 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 784.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 10,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 9,678 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 148.6% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 21,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 13,040 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 104.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 73,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,000,000 after acquiring an additional 37,750 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About NRG Energy

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.