NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Upgraded to Outperform at Evercore ISI

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) was upgraded by research analysts at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $126.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $74.00. Evercore ISI’s target price indicates a potential upside of 20.57% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim upped their target price on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.43.

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NRG stock opened at $104.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $21.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.15. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.01 and its 200 day moving average is $87.68. NRG Energy has a 1-year low of $50.43 and a 1-year high of $106.65.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,191.68. This represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 74.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in NRG Energy during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently 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.