NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,300,000 shares, a decline of 29.3% from the January 15th total of 8,910,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on NRG. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.43.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NRG traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.64. 1,661,040 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,078,556. NRG Energy has a 1-year low of $51.42 and a 1-year high of $115.38. The stock has a market cap of $21.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $99.11 and its 200-day moving average is $91.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 44.22%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This represents a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NRG. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,460,000. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 16,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, NatWest Group plc grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 9.1% in the third quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 79,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,618 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is 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.