NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Now Covered by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $129.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG stock opened at $83.38 on Friday. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $65.11 and a 1 year high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.08.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 35.92%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 414.9% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.