NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Increases Dividend to $0.44 Per Share

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

NRG Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 7.8% annually over the last three years. NRG Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 20.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect NRG Energy to earn $7.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.63 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.6%.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG traded up $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $110.45. The company had a trading volume of 3,558,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,261,851. The stock has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. NRG Energy has a 1-year low of $51.26 and a 1-year high of $115.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.43.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. The trade was a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. This trade represents a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.