NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Short Interest Update

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,004,865 shares, a growth of 17.9% from the March 31st total of 4,245,017 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,371,292 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:NRG traded down $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $153.24. The stock had a trading volume of 2,380,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,433,766. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $159.13 and its 200-day moving average is $160.83. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $114.00 and a 1 year high of $189.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.89 and a beta of 1.32.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 8.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of NRG Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Raymond James Financial set a $210.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,693,291.75. The trade was a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,096,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 227.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 145,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,332,000 after acquiring an additional 101,395 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 169,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,729 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 260.9% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 53,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,759,000 after acquiring an additional 38,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.