NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Given New $144.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $144.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.54.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $172.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.97. The stock has a market cap of $33.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.16 and a beta of 1.14. NRG Energy has a 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year high of $175.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The company had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.64%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,253 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 468.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $454,173,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049,247 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 772.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,342,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876,235 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 169.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,829 shares during the period. Finally, Appaloosa LP increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 12.9% in the first quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $195,693,000 after purchasing an additional 235,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.