NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.44

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 9th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st.

NRG Energy has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 2.7% annually over the last three years. NRG Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 21.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect NRG Energy to earn $9.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.0%.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $109.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $65.11 and a 1 year high of $117.26. The company has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $97.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in NRG Energy stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 41.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $129.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

About NRG Energy

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.