Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of NRG Energy Call Options (NYSE:NRG)

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 10,172 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 183% compared to the typical volume of 3,593 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NRG. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Evercore started coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered NRG Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $232.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.69.

NRG Energy Stock Down 6.8%

Shares of NRG traded down $8.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $121.14. 1,470,006 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,607,332. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $120.50 and a 52 week high of $189.96. The company has a market cap of $25.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.87 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.30). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 70.67% and a net margin of 0.74%.The firm had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. NRG Energy’s quarterly revenue 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 forecast that NRG Energy will post 8.98 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 223.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total transaction of $783,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 55,495 shares in the company, valued at $8,693,291.75. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NRG. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NRG Energy Company Profile

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.