Wall Street Zen Upgrades NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) to Strong-Buy

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on NRG. Barclays set a $197.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $167.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $160.30.

NRG Energy Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $151.97 on Friday. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $168.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.73. The firm has a market cap of $29.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $1.90. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 73.78%. The business had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.