NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Research Coverage Started at BNP Paribas Exane

BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $232.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on NRG. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NRG Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 target price on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Evercore started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.43.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $145.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.03 and a beta of 1.26. NRG Energy has a fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $189.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total transaction of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 46,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,324,588.92. This represents a 50.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 177,556 shares of company stock valued at $28,333,696 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NRG. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 295,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,852,000 after purchasing an additional 162,874 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 58.1% during the third quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 7,344 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in NRG Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,225,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,442,000 after purchasing an additional 86,528 shares in the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,003,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in NRG Energy by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 277,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,865,000 after buying an additional 32,672 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NRG Energy Company Profile

NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.

NRG’s generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.