NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $134.91 and last traded at $136.2450, with a volume of 200216 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $137.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $159.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.46.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $153.80 and a 200 day moving average of $159.54. The company has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.43 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.30). NRG Energy had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 70.67%. The company had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 8.82 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 223.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total value of $783,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares in the company, valued at $8,693,291.75. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its position in NRG Energy by 122.8% during the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 295,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,852,000 after acquiring an additional 162,874 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 58.1% in the third quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 7,344 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,225,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,442,000 after purchasing an additional 86,528 shares in the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,003,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 13.4% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 277,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,865,000 after purchasing an additional 32,672 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is a U.S.-based integrated power company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of power generation assets and participates in wholesale and retail energy markets. NRG supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and retail consumers, while also providing energy-related products and services designed to manage consumption and support reliability.

NRG’s generation mix includes conventional thermal plants as well as renewable and distributed energy resources.