NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Short Interest Up 17.9% in April

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,004,865 shares, an increase of 17.9% from the March 31st total of 4,245,017 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,371,292 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total value of $783,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares in the company, valued at $8,693,291.75. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG stock traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $153.24. 2,380,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,433,766. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $114.00 and a 12 month high of $189.96. The company has a market cap of $32.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.89 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $159.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.64.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 109.48% and a net margin of 2.81%.The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 8.98 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 48.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on NRG shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $210.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.57.

About NRG Energy

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.