BMO Capital Markets Boosts NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Price Target to $195.00

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $185.00 to $195.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target indicates a potential upside of 15.46% from the company’s previous close.

NRG has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $133.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on NRG Energy from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $198.31.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG opened at $168.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $32.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.42 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $163.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.28. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $180.54.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.85. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 88.22% and a net margin of 1.78%.The business had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Dak Liyanearachchi sold 10,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,654,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 48,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,528,505. This represents a 18.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NRG. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its position in NRG Energy by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during 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.