NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.44 Per Share

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 23rd,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

NRG Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 7.8% annually over the last three years. NRG Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 20.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect NRG Energy to earn $7.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.63 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.6%.

NRG Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:NRG traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $110.91. 1,789,874 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,128,631. NRG Energy has a 12-month low of $51.26 and a 12-month high of $115.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 1.31 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NRG shares. Citigroup upped their target price on NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.43.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About NRG Energy

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.