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

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $185.7273.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NRG shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 target price on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total transaction of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. This represents a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at $10,147,939.20. The trade was a 41.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446 over the last 90 days. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 178.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,676,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,222,409,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916,653 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth $305,817,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 124.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,808,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $287,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,672 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,921,000 after acquiring an additional 767,014 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 492.5% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,918,000 after purchasing an additional 734,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $175.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $156.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.16. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $180.54.

NRG Energy announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.40%.

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.