NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Reaches New 52-Week High at $76.59

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded 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 target on shares of NRG Energy from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.50.

NRG Energy Price Performance

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

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.20. NRG Energy had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a positive return on equity of 44.03%. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 356,962 shares in the company, valued at $22,342,251.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth about $41,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 1,005.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.