NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $88.24 and last traded at $88.3120, with a volume of 635,211 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $96.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $162.00 to $149.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, October 19th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $221.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial set a $152.00 price objective on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.56.

NRG Energy Stock Up 4.2%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $102.52 and its 200 day moving average is $134.01. The company has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.20 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.17, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.20). NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 52.95%. The business had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a $0.4750 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In other news, CAO Gerald Alfred Spencer sold 1,580 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.93, for a total value of $191,069.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $751,338.09. The trade was a 20.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the second quarter worth about $473,391,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in NRG Energy by 16.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,192,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,396,000 after purchasing an additional 313,410 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in NRG Energy by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,191,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $320,145,000 after acquiring an additional 21,666 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3.6% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,568,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $150,052,000 after purchasing an additional 54,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 96.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 967,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,279,000 after acquiring an additional 474,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc is an integrated power and home services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company produces and sells electricity through a diverse generation portfolio that includes natural gas, coal, nuclear power, renewable energy and battery storage. NRG serves wholesale and retail energy markets, with operations and customers primarily in the United States and Canada.

Through retail brands including Reliant and Direct Energy, NRG provides electricity, natural gas and related energy products to residential, commercial and industrial customers.