NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $107.50 and last traded at $107.54, with a volume of 6423 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $104.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.43.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 17.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,523,000 after buying an additional 16,274 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 9.6% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 36.6% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 11,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 60.6% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 47,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,729,000 after buying an additional 18,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the second quarter worth $281,000. 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.