NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 1-Year High at $88.49

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $88.49 and last traded at $88.49, with a volume of 17237 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NRG shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com lowered NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday, September 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.75.

NRG Energy Stock Up 3.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.60 and a 200-day moving average of $76.53.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $1.82. The firm had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 43.69%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 23.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total value of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 163,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,688. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $217,671,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 253.2% in the first quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 1,766,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,000 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in NRG Energy by 11.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,610,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $109,007,000 after purchasing an additional 160,415 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,318,000 after purchasing an additional 633,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $64,306,000. 97.72% of the stock is 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.