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

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $186.4545.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NRG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $198.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th.

NRG Energy Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:NRG opened at $149.37 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.85. The stock has a market cap of $28.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $79.57 and a 12 month high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 103.57%. NRG Energy’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total value of $3,276,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,075,549.62. This represents a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,556 shares of company stock worth $30,826,846. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Company Profile

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.