NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. Evercore ISI currently has $126.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $74.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NRG. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.43.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $110.45 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $97.12 and its 200 day moving average is $88.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.15. NRG Energy has a fifty-two week low of $51.26 and a fifty-two week high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 40.95%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,481,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 1,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.