NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives $198.21 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.2143.

NRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on NRG Energy from $203.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Evercore initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price target on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $149.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $32.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 1.35. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $189.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $158.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,693,291.75. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in NRG Energy by 3.0% in the third quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in NRG Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in NRG Energy by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 4.7% in the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.

NRG’s generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.