Analysts Set NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Price Target at $83.25

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on NRG shares. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $88.45 on Friday. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $41.57 and a 12 month high of $96.40. The stock has a market cap of $18.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $1.82. NRG Energy had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 43.69%. The business had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 17.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total value of $8,244,151.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,688. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $217,671,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 253.2% during the 1st quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 1,766,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,000 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,610,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $109,007,000 after acquiring an additional 160,415 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,318,000 after purchasing an additional 633,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 1st quarter worth $64,306,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.