NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $198.3077.

NRG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $308.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $198.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, October 20th.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG stock opened at $162.66 on Wednesday. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $180.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.46 billion, a PE ratio of 73.60 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $165.11 and its 200-day moving average is $155.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The business had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 26.31%.

NRG Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,654,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NRG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 468.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $454,173,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049,247 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 772.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,342,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876,235 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 169.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771,829 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter worth $93,075,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in NRG Energy by 113.3% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,921,000 after acquiring an additional 767,014 shares during the period. 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.