NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $90.84 and last traded at $91.7480, with a volume of 284,070 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NRG. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. HSBC began coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $179.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $214.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $131.00 price target on NRG Energy in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.20.

NRG Energy Trading Down 1.4%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.10. The company has a market capitalization of $19.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.69 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.17.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 52.95% and a net margin of 2.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.4750 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, CAO Gerald Alfred Spencer sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.93, for a total transaction of $191,069.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $751,338.09. This trade represents a 20.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 52,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,982,000 after buying an additional 7,025 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 21,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $471,000. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 11.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at about $85,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Company Profile

NRG Energy, Inc is an integrated power and home services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company produces and sells electricity through a diverse generation portfolio that includes natural gas, coal, nuclear power, renewable energy and battery storage. NRG serves wholesale and retail energy markets, with operations and customers primarily in the United States and Canada.

Through retail brands including Reliant and Direct Energy, NRG provides electricity, natural gas and related energy products to residential, commercial and industrial customers.