NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• NRG Energy shares hit a new 52-week high at $175.96 during trading, closing at $172.01 with significant volume of over 4 million shares.
• Equities analysts have issued a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” for NRG Energy, with a range of price targets, including a strong-buy rating from Raymond James with a target of $195.00.
• NRG Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.0%, reflecting the company's solid financial performance and growth prospects.

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $197.00 to $203.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. NRG Energy traded as high as $175.96 and last traded at $172.01, with a volume of 4364722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.91.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on NRG. Wall Street Zen downgraded NRG Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $167.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on NRG Energy from $138.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin Howell sold 50,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 55,427 shares in the company, valued at $8,563,471.50. The trade was a 47.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 99.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 413,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,512,000 after acquiring an additional 206,096 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in NRG Energy by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $276,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average is $155.73 and its 200-day moving average is $125.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.10, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.14.

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

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.64%.

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.