NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to “Outperform” Rating

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $190.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price points to a potential upside of 22.79% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on NRG. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered NRG Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. 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 for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.43.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG opened at $154.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.27 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.95. NRG Energy has a one year low of $79.57 and a one year high of $189.96.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was 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 owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 177,556 shares of company stock worth $28,333,696. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in NRG Energy by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.