NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on NRG. HSBC began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $179.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on NRG Energy from $209.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $214.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Williams Trading set a $165.00 target price on NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded NRG Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.56.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock opened at $96.97 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 1.17. NRG Energy has a 1-year low of $90.80 and a 1-year high of $189.96.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 52.95% and a net margin of 2.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Gerald Alfred Spencer sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.93, for a total value of $191,069.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,213 shares in the company, valued at $751,338.09. The trade was a 20.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $473,391,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 16.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,192,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $320,396,000 after buying an additional 313,410 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of NRG Energy by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,191,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $320,145,000 after buying an additional 21,666 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 96.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 967,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,279,000 after buying an additional 474,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 50.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 857,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $125,268,000 after buying an additional 287,381 shares in the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc is an integrated power and home services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company produces and sells electricity through a diverse generation portfolio that includes natural gas, coal, nuclear power, renewable energy and battery storage. NRG serves wholesale and retail energy markets, with operations and customers primarily in the United States and Canada.

Through retail brands including Reliant and Direct Energy, NRG provides electricity, natural gas and related energy products to residential, commercial and industrial customers.