NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $82.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

NRG has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com downgraded NRG Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on NRG Energy from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.75.

NRG Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:NRG opened at $80.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $16.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.85. NRG Energy has a fifty-two week low of $36.61 and a fifty-two week high of $87.58.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $1.82. NRG Energy had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 43.69%. The company had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $338,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in NRG Energy by 280.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 156,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,091,000 after acquiring an additional 115,344 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 3,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

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.