NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Reaches New 52-Week High - What's Next?

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $162.33 and last traded at $160.69, with a volume of 2648980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $167.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.75.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.5%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $121.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $8.28 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 48.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 55,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,563,471.50. This represents a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $454,173,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049,247 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in NRG Energy by 772.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $406,342,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876,235 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $255,142,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in NRG Energy by 169.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,817,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $269,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,829 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in NRG Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $205,943,000 after purchasing an additional 316,445 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company's stock.

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.