NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $182.04 and last traded at $179.6740, with a volume of 242494 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $179.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on 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, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.73.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.3%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $37.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44 and a beta of 1.27.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.475 dividend. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.40%.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the utilities provider to buy up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total value of $9,796,391.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,053,422.19. This trade represents a 39.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,868,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,730,685,000 after buying an additional 234,666 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 178.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,676,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,222,409,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916,653 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,637,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $910,324,000 after acquiring an additional 82,162 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $790,471,000 after acquiring an additional 31,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,817,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.