NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock Price Down 5.2% – Should You Sell?
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemNRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG – Get Free Report) shares fell 5.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $159.72 and last traded at $159.0150. 1,040,575 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 2,548,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.73.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NRG. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $232.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of NRG Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $203.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of NRG Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.21.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on NRG Energy
NRG Energy Trading Down 6.4%
The company’s fifty day moving average is $161.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.44. The stock has a market cap of $33.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.86 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92.
NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.
NRG Energy Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 48.22%.
Insider Activity
In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,693,291.75. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 122.8% in the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 295,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,852,000 after acquiring an additional 162,874 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 7.6% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,225,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,442,000 after acquiring an additional 86,528 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 58.1% in the third quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,238,000 after acquiring an additional 7,344 shares during the period. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at $27,003,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 13.4% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 277,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,865,000 after acquiring an additional 32,672 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
NRG Energy Company Profile
NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.
NRG’s generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.