NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $103.14 and last traded at $102.21, with a volume of 1127150 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $98.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on 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 upped their target price on NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.71.

NRG Energy Trading Up 2.8 %

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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.72. The stock has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.4075 dividend. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,688. This represents a 38.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 76.1% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.