NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Reaches New 12-Month High at $76.59

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $76.59 and last traded at $76.23, with a volume of 358205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NRG. Citigroup lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NRG Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.50.

NRG Energy Trading Up 2.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.93 and a 200-day moving average of $55.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.21 and a beta of 1.11.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 positive return on equity of 44.03% and a negative net margin of 0.70%. On average, equities research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -152.34%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.59, for a total value of $3,072,668.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 356,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,342,251.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NRG. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in NRG Energy in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in NRG Energy by 1,005.5% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NRG Energy

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.