Brokerages Set NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Price Target at $199.21

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $186.4545.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NRG shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total transaction of $9,796,391.80. Following the sale, the vice president owned 93,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,053,422.19. This trade represents a 39.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846 in the last 90 days. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE NRG opened at $150.66 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $28.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52 and a beta of 1.25. NRG Energy has a twelve month low of $79.57 and a twelve month high of $180.54. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $159.99 and its 200 day moving average is $159.85.

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

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.