NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $120.11 and last traded at $120.6050, with a volume of 3829764 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $129.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NRG. Raymond James Financial set a $210.00 target price on NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $162.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $203.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.69.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.89 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $145.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.34.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.30). NRG Energy had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 70.67%. The business had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 8.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 223.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares in the company, valued at $8,693,291.75. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

About NRG Energy

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.