NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.4286.

A number of brokerages have commented on NRG. Williams Trading set a $184.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Siebert Williams Shank started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, July 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $184.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered NRG Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on NRG Energy from $221.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $119.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $133.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.68 and a beta of 1.22. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $112.50 and a 52-week high of $189.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.20). NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 52.95%. The company had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 50.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.52, for a total transaction of $2,550,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 45,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,752,554.72. This represents a 30.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 571,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,026,000 after purchasing an additional 276,157 shares in the last quarter. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP now owns 90,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,332,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in NRG Energy by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 568,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,522,000 after acquiring an additional 259,113 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its position in NRG Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 523,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,315,000 after purchasing an additional 51,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 1,799.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 134,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,421,000 after acquiring an additional 127,438 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.