NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $107.50 and last traded at $107.54, with a volume of 6423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.43.

NRG Energy Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $96.75 and its 200-day moving average is $88.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $22.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total transaction of $5,484,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in NRG Energy by 0.3% during the third 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 during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 3.5% in 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. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 1,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. 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.