Brokerages Set NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Target Price at $123.29

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $123.29.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE NRG opened at $95.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.45. NRG Energy has a one year low of $65.11 and a one year high of $117.26. The firm has a market cap of $19.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.92%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 414.9% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Company Profile

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.