NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.2143.

A number of research analysts have commented on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th.

NRG Energy Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of NRG opened at $152.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $180.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.03.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 4.84%.The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total value of $3,276,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at $7,075,549.62. The trade was a 31.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 192,556 shares of company stock valued at $30,826,846 over the last 90 days. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $790,471,000 after buying an additional 31,238 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in NRG Energy by 113.3% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,921,000 after acquiring an additional 767,014 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 42.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,368,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,671,000 after acquiring an additional 409,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 7.6% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,225,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,442,000 after acquiring an additional 86,528 shares during the last quarter. 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.