Brokerages Set NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Price Target at $188.85

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $188.8462.

NRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,654,160.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 48,571 shares in the company, valued at $7,528,505. This trade represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,437,000 after acquiring an additional 39,253 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 468.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,757,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $454,173,000 after buying an additional 6,049,247 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 772.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,342,000 after buying an additional 3,876,235 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 169.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,230,000 after buying an additional 1,771,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Appaloosa LP boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 12.9% during the first quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $195,693,000 after buying an additional 235,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $168.40 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $157.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.19. NRG Energy has a fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $175.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.14. 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 Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.04). NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The company had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.64%.

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.