NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.44 on May 15th

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 9th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st.

NRG Energy has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 2.7% per year over the last three years. NRG Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 21.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect NRG Energy to earn $9.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.0%.

NRG Energy Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NRG opened at $93.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $65.11 and a 12 month high of $117.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NRG shares. StockNews.com cut NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Friday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $129.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $74.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,952,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in NRG Energy stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) by 41.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.