NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Trading Up 7.7% – Here’s Why

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) shares rose 7.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $99.91 and last traded at $99.87. Approximately 832,627 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 1,451,175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NRG. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.71.

NRG Energy Trading Up 6.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.95%.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 50,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,557,000 after purchasing an additional 10,031 shares in the last quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 47.8% in the third quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 520,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,426,000 after buying an additional 168,267 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii boosted its position in NRG Energy by 95.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 15,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 7,662 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 181.5% during the 3rd quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 11,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 7,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 236,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,566,000 after acquiring an additional 54,165 shares during the last quarter. 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.