NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives $199.21 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $199.2143.

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $160.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $165.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.90. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 103.57%. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.31%.

NRG Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the utilities provider to buy up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total value of $3,276,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,075,549.62. The trade was a 31.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 155,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,953,000 after acquiring an additional 13,757 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 251,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,364,000 after acquiring an additional 101,922 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at about $418,000. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,368,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the second quarter worth $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Company Profile

NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.

NRG’s generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.