Evercore ISI Upgrades NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) to Outperform

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $126.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $74.00.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NRG. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.43.

NRG Energy Trading Up 6.8 %

NYSE:NRG opened at $111.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $51.26 and a 52-week high of $112.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $96.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.92. The company has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $549,000. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 43.8% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 78,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,126,000 after purchasing an additional 24,062 shares during the last quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 520,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,426,000 after buying an additional 168,267 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 50,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,557,000 after buying an additional 10,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Hawaii increased its position in NRG Energy by 95.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 15,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,429,000 after buying an additional 7,662 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Company Profile

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.