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

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $111.43.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NRG shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of NRG Energy 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG stock opened at $102.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.22. NRG Energy has a 1-year low of $51.26 and a 1-year high of $115.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The firm has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.