NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives $196.33 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $196.3333.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NRG. Zacks Research upgraded NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NRG opened at $152.66 on Tuesday. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $189.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $158.83 and a 200-day moving average of $161.89. The company has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.64.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total value of $7,461,667.84. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. The trade was a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This trade represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Company Profile

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.