Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG)

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 20,896 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 198% compared to the average volume of 7,014 call options.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.52, for a total value of $2,550,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 45,111 shares in the company, valued at $5,752,554.72. This represents a 30.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3.0% during the fourth 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 period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 17.9% during 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. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. WT Wealth Management lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. WT Wealth Management now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $113.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.17, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. NRG Energy has a fifty-two week low of $111.30 and a fifty-two week high of $189.96. The company has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.11 and a beta of 1.22.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 52.95%. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on NRG shares. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on NRG Energy from $221.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $214.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.43.

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.