NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $64.25.

Several research firms have issued reports on NRG. 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 report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on NRG Energy from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th.

NRG Energy Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $75.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.86 and a beta of 1.11. NRG Energy has a 1-year low of $30.62 and a 1-year high of $83.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.16.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion during 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -152.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 356,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,342,251.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $31,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 1,005.5% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.