NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on NRG Energy from $86.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.29.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NRG opened at $84.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The company has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $102.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.28. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $59.50 and a 52 week high of $117.26.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in NRG Energy by 1,010.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,557,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,504,000 after buying an additional 1,417,057 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in NRG Energy by 32,962.3% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,521 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth $94,346,000. Appaloosa LP boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 1,815,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,749,000 after acquiring an additional 815,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 904,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,583,000 after purchasing an additional 703,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.