Short Interest in NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Rises By 36.7%

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,610,000 shares, an increase of 36.7% from the January 31st total of 6,300,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.29.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NRG Energy stock traded down $1.56 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,642,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,043,543. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $57.65 and a 52 week high of $117.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.04. The company has a market capitalization of $19.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.15.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.92%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in NRG Energy by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.