Morgan Stanley Cuts NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Price Target to $162.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered NRG Energy’s price target to $162 from $165 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating; the new target implies 41.24% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $198.43, despite target reductions from some firms.
• NRG reported quarterly EPS of $1.49, below the $1.69 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 11% year over year to $7.48 billion. Shares recently traded at $114.70, near their 12-month low of $112.50.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $162.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 41.24% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NRG Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Siebert Williams Shank assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, July 6th. They set a "buy" rating and a $184.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on NRG Energy from $221.00 to $216.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.43.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

NRG Energy stock traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $114.70. 907,543 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,681,646. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $132.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.99. NRG Energy has a twelve month low of $112.50 and a twelve month high of $189.96. The firm has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.17, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.20). NRG Energy had a return on equity of 52.95% and a net margin of 2.56%.The company had revenue of $7.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 earnings per share. NRG Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. Equities analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.52, for a total value of $2,550,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 45,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,752,554.72. This trade represents a 30.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 17.9% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its position in NRG Energy by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 219 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. WT Wealth Management lifted its holdings in NRG Energy by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. WT Wealth Management now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company's stock.

About NRG Energy

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.

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