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

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $196.3333.

A number of analysts have commented on NRG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $155.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45 and a beta of 1.26. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $189.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $159.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.64.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 48.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total value of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 46,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. This represents a 50.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 4.7% during the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in 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.