NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) VP Sells 5,000 Shares

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total value of $783,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,693,291.75. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock traded up $2.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $154.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,828,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,607,999. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year high of $189.96. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.89. The stock has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.27 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in NRG Energy by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.