Analysts Set NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Target Price at $111.43

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $111.43.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,225,000 after buying an additional 313,478 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,820,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,948,000 after purchasing an additional 24,834 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 7.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,639,000 after purchasing an additional 182,481 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1,010.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,057 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,330,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $121,227,000 after purchasing an additional 456,573 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $102.76 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.47 and a 200-day moving average of $89.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $51.26 and a 52 week high of $115.38.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.95%.

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.