NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $100.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on NRG Energy from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com upgraded NRG Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NRG Energy from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $64.25.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG traded up $5.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.76. The company had a trading volume of 5,885,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,685,800. The stock has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.31 and a beta of 1.11. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $30.62 and a 1 year high of $83.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. NRG Energy had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a positive return on equity of 44.03%. On average, analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -152.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NRG Energy

In related news, VP Rasesh M. Patel sold 49,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.59, for a total value of $3,072,668.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 356,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,342,251.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 3,477.2% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 976,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,618,000 after acquiring an additional 949,289 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 486.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 900,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,688,000 after purchasing an additional 746,899 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 105.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,346,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,642,000 after acquiring an additional 689,941 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 91.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,318,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,770,000 after acquiring an additional 629,993 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 139.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 913,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,178,000 after acquiring an additional 532,320 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.