NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Stock Has Average Target Price of $173.44 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are moderately bullish: Seventeen firms give NRG Energy a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $173.44. Eleven rate it a buy, two a strong buy, and four a hold.
• NRG beat quarterly earnings expectations: It reported EPS of $4.68 versus the $3.35 consensus and revenue of $9.47 billion, up 24% year over year. The company also set fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $7.90–$9.90.
• Shares recently traded at $97.04, down 1% for the day; the stock’s 52-week range is $79.65–$189.96. NRG also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield.

Shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $173.44.

NRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $221.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Williams Trading set a $165.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $209.00 to $182.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded NRG Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gerald Alfred Spencer sold 1,580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.93, for a total transaction of $191,069.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $751,338.09. This trade represents a 20.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $473,391,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in NRG Energy by 16.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 313,410 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 21,666 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 3.6% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,568,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $150,052,000 after buying an additional 54,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $141,279,000 after buying an additional 474,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

NRG Energy Trading Down 1.0%

NRG Energy stock traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,460,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,129,640. The firm has a market cap of $20.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.73, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.99. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $79.65 and a 1 year high of $189.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $100.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.36.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The utilities provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $1.33. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.42 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 53.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. NRG Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.050-10.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NRG Energy will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.4750 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. NRG Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.45%.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc. is an integrated energy company that produces and sells electricity and natural gas and provides home services. Its businesses serve residential, commercial and industrial customers, primarily in the United States and Canada. The company supplies retail electricity and natural gas through a range of plans and brands, while its power-generation operations help support electricity markets across its service areas. NRG also offers energy-management programs and related services for businesses and other large customers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.