NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $151.80.

Several research firms have commented on NRG. Wall Street Zen upgraded NRG Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $129.00 price target on the stock.

NRG Energy Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:NRG traded up $3.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $158.75. 2,106,109 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,984,594. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $65.11 and a 52 week high of $168.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The company has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.84.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. The business had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 73.78% and a net margin of 4.66%. NRG Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.50, for a total transaction of $7,725,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 97.72% of the stock is 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.