NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.25.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NRG Energy from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on NRG Energy from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.59, for a total transaction of $3,072,668.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 356,962 shares in the company, valued at $22,342,251.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in NRG Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 1,005.5% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $75.82 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $68.75 and its 200 day moving average is $56.16. NRG Energy has a one year low of $30.62 and a one year high of $83.03. The firm has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.86 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.20. NRG Energy had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a positive return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is -152.34%.

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.