NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock Price Down 7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) were down 7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $148.75 and last traded at $149.0050. Approximately 2,019,129 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 2,836,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $198.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, October 20th. Melius Research initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.21.

NRG Energy Stock Down 7.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $167.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.89. The firm has a market cap of $28.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16 and a beta of 1.26.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 103.57%. The firm had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. NRG Energy’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 26.31%.

NRG Energy declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the utilities provider to buy up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total value of $3,276,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,075,549.62. This represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 155,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,953,000 after purchasing an additional 13,757 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 251,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,364,000 after acquiring an additional 101,922 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $418,000. Trek Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,368,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $244,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently 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.