NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $96.58 and last traded at $96.38, with a volume of 1004417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.00.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.40.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $1.82. The business had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 43.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total value of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,688. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.8% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 4,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 76.1% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.