NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.15 EPS

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from NRG Energy’s conference call:

• NRG beat its raised 2025 guidance with record results — Adjusted EPS $8.24, Adjusted EBITDA $4.087B, and Free Cash Flow Before Growth $2.21B, driven by strong execution across segments.
• The LS Power acquisition closed (end of Jan), immediately accretive and doubling NRG’s fleet to ~25 GW (now >75% natural gas); integration is exceeding underwriting and is strengthening credit metrics and near-term earnings.
• Management reaffirmed 2026 guidance and rolled forward a long-term target of at least 14% annual growth in Adjusted EPS and FCF per share through 2030, but that outlook assumes flat power/capacity prices and explicitly excludes future data center deals or higher prices.
• NRG says it can support >6 GW of long-term data center power agreements (potentially adding >$2.5B recurring annual Adj. EBITDA) and is targeting at least 1 GW of BYOP contracts in 2026 (not included in current guidance), representing significant upside.
• Capital allocation remains shareholder friendly — $3.05B cash available in 2026, plan to return at least $1.4B to shareholders, ~$1B debt repayment, and a rolled-forward program targeting ~$13.2B of returns through 2030 (including ~$11B buybacks).

NRG Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NRG traded down $3.77 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $179.83. 742,245 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,103,813. The company has a market capitalization of $38.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.92. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $189.96.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is currently 28.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total transaction of $7,144,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 63,920 shares in the company, valued at $10,147,939.20. This represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 46,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.84, for a total transaction of $7,461,667.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 46,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,324,588.92. This trade represents a 50.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. BOKF NA increased its stake in NRG Energy by 3,714.3% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 1,970.6% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.67.

NRG Energy declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.