Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $86.00 to $99.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 10.98% from the stock’s previous close.

NRG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target 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 $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.71.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE NRG traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $111.21. 683,185 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,941,748. NRG Energy has a one year low of $51.42 and a one year high of $115.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.07. The stock has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,481,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.