NRG Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:NRG)

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 13,309 call options on the company. This is an increase of 221% compared to the average daily volume of 4,152 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.52, for a total transaction of $2,550,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 45,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,752,554.72. This trade represents a 30.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 178.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,676,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,222,409,000 after buying an additional 4,916,653 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth $305,817,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in NRG Energy by 124.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,808,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $287,469,000 after buying an additional 1,001,672 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 492.5% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 883,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,918,000 after buying an additional 734,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $85,951,000. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 6.7%

NRG Energy stock opened at $127.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $26.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.87 and a beta of 1.21. NRG Energy has a one year low of $120.11 and a one year high of $189.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $135.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.42.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.43 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 70.67%. NRG Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 223.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NRG. Raymond James Financial set a $210.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $221.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Siebert Williams Shank started coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Monday, July 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $184.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.79.

About NRG Energy

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.