NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock Moved Up to "Hold" by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded NRG Energy from “strong sell” to “hold,” while broader analyst coverage remains more positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $173.56 target price.
• NRG shares opened at $96.97, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and have traded between $90.80 and $189.96 over the past year.
• The company missed quarterly EPS estimates ($1.49 versus $1.69 expected) despite revenue exceeding forecasts and rising 11% year over year; institutional investors own 97.72% of outstanding shares.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. HSBC assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $179.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded NRG Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Williams Trading set a $165.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. UBS Group reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $159.00 to $144.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $173.56.

NRG Energy Price Performance

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

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $7.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.73 EPS. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, CAO Gerald Alfred Spencer sold 1,580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.93, for a total transaction of $191,069.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $751,338.09. This trade represents a 20.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $473,391,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,192,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $320,396,000 after acquiring an additional 313,410 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,191,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $320,145,000 after acquiring an additional 21,666 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 96.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 967,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $141,279,000 after acquiring an additional 474,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 50.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 857,186 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $125,268,000 after purchasing an additional 287,381 shares during the period. 97.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NRG Energy Company Profile

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.

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