NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Hits New 1-Year High at $86.06

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $86.06 and last traded at $86.00, with a volume of 1435651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded NRG Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on NRG Energy from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on NRG Energy from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

NRG Energy Trading Up 6.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.09 and a 200-day moving average of $59.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.11.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 42.60% and a net margin of 5.76%. On average, research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a $0.4075 dividend. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 30th. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 24,546 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,047,381.86. Following the sale, the insider now owns 266,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,192,398.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.59, for a total transaction of $3,072,668.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 356,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,342,251.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 24,546 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,047,381.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 266,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,192,398.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is 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 the business. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NRG Energy by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 14,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 7,704 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in NRG Energy by 104.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 73,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after buying an additional 37,750 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $349,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 7,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP grew its stake in NRG Energy by 116.5% during the 1st quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 188,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,753,000 after buying an additional 101,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.