NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Given New $203.00 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has raised its price target for NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.43%
• NRG Energy reported a net margin of 4.66% with quarterly revenue reaching $6.74 billion, surpassing estimates of $6.63 billion.
• Multiple brokerages have provided varying ratings for NRG Energy, with the consensus rating being "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $162.70.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Barclays from $197.00 to $203.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Barclays's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 32.92% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on NRG. Citigroup increased their target price on NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered NRG Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.70.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $152.72. 2,574,077 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,324,011. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.14. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $76.13 and a 12 month high of $175.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.95.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This trade represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $454,173,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049,247 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 772.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $406,342,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876,235 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 169.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $269,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,829 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the first quarter valued at about $93,075,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 289.1% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,023,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,672,000 after purchasing an additional 760,201 shares in the last quarter. 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.