NRG Energy, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.41 (NYSE:NRG)

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.4075 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%.

NRG Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 5 years. NRG Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 23.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect NRG Energy to earn $6.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.63 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.8%.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:NRG traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $73.42. 4,216,828 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,693,877. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49. NRG Energy has a fifty-two week low of $30.52 and a fifty-two week high of $76.54. The firm has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.66 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.20. NRG Energy had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a positive return on equity of 44.03%. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NRG shares. TheStreet raised shares of NRG Energy from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of NRG Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.59, for a total transaction of $3,072,668.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 356,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,342,251.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NRG. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy during the second quarter worth $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 4,030.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its position in NRG Energy by 362.5% in the fourth quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.