NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives $186.92 Average PT from Analysts

Key Points

• NRG Energy, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with nine buy ratings, two hold ratings, and one strong buy rating.
• The latest earnings report revealed a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.68, which was below the consensus estimate of $1.72, despite revenue of $6.74 billion exceeding expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing a 1.2% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 79.64%.

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $186.9167.

NRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $308.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $144.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,949,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,197,345. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.48. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $76.13 and a 52-week high of $175.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.50, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.14.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 88.22%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.0% during the second quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,437 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its stake in NRG Energy by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 383 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

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.