NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $102.71.

NRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,688. The trade was a 38.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the second quarter worth about $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 76.1% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 10.2 %

NRG stock opened at $101.20 on Wednesday. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $45.46 and a 52 week high of $102.84. The company has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.25.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 40.95%.

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.