NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.29.

NRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Guggenheim upped their price target on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG opened at $95.48 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.18. The stock has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $45.29 and a 12 month high of $102.84.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 40.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total value of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,688. This trade represents a 38.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $217,671,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 32,962.3% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,901,000 after buying an additional 1,049,521 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $64,306,000. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in NRG Energy in the second quarter valued at $53,773,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 65.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,318,000 after purchasing an additional 633,765 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.