NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,960,000 shares, a decline of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 8,610,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,399,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,225,000 after buying an additional 313,478 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in NRG Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,828,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,142,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,663,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,639,000 after buying an additional 182,481 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in NRG Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,943,000 after buying an additional 316,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 buying an additional 815,180 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG opened at $98.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $20.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $102.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.72. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $117.26.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.29.

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.