Morgan Stanley Cuts NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Price Target to $162.00

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $162.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on NRG Energy from $221.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Williams Trading set a $184.00 target price on NRG Energy in a report on Monday, July 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on NRG Energy from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on NRG Energy from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $221.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.43.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $113.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $132.25 and its 200 day moving average is $144.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.93 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01 and a beta of 1.22. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $112.50 and a 1 year high of $189.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.17.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 52.95%. NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is presently 50.26%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.52, for a total value of $2,550,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 45,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,752,554.72. This represents a 30.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. WT Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. WT Wealth Management now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.