NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Shares Up 6.8% – Time to Buy?

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) shares shot up 6.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $99.23 and last traded at $98.10. 848,647 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 3,247,083 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NRG. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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 note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.71.

NRG Energy Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $20.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $90.68 and its 200 day moving average is $83.37.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 40.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the company’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 transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 163,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,688. This represents a 38.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors 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.