BMO Capital Markets Raises NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Price Target to $115.00

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on NRG. StockNews.com upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.29.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE NRG opened at $98.69 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $102.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. NRG Energy has a fifty-two week low of $59.50 and a fifty-two week high of $117.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 35.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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 $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $509,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in NRG Energy by 307.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 358,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,636,000 after acquiring an additional 270,234 shares in the last quarter. 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.