NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Price Target Raised to $82.00 at BMO Capital Markets

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its price target increased by BMO Capital Markets from $73.00 to $82.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of NRG Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on NRG Energy from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $64.25.

NRG Energy Trading Up 7.8 %

NYSE NRG traded up $5.94 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.76. 5,885,928 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,685,800. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.16. NRG Energy has a 12-month low of $30.62 and a 12-month high of $83.03. The firm has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.31 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 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 the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. NRG Energy had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a positive return on equity of 44.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently -152.34%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.59, for a total value of $3,072,668.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 356,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,342,251.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $118,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in NRG Energy by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 305,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,816,000 after acquiring an additional 136,968 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $743,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in NRG Energy by 486.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 900,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,688,000 after purchasing an additional 746,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in NRG Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,729,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $220,696,000 after acquiring an additional 156,974 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.