NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $161.78 and last traded at $161.22, with a volume of 2826803 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $159.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NRG. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of NRG Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.75.

NRG Energy Stock Up 1.3%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $107.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The stock has a market cap of $31.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.51, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.00.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $1.90. NRG Energy had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 48.96%. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 904 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,482 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,436,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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