NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 1-Year High at $84.46

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $84.46 and last traded at $83.62, with a volume of 822019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on NRG Energy from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.25.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.64. The stock has a market cap of $17.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -78.16 and a beta of 1.11.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. NRG Energy had a positive return on equity of 44.03% and a negative net margin of 0.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -152.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.59, for a total transaction of $3,072,668.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 356,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,342,251.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in NRG Energy by 63.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 168,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,508,000 after buying an additional 65,706 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 57,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,197,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in NRG Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 41,166 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 135,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,219,000 after acquiring an additional 5,198 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.