NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on NRG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.67.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $183.95 on Monday. NRG Energy has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $189.96. The company has a market capitalization of $39.49 billion, a PE ratio of 46.69 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $158.37 and its two-hundred day 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 (NYSE:NRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 109.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

NRG Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.40%.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total value of $1,938,682.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,254.32. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian Curci sold 60,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total value of $9,796,391.80. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 93,089 shares in the company, valued at $15,053,422.19. This represents a 39.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 172,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,550,446. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in NRG Energy by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $323,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in NRG Energy by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in NRG Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 17,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the second quarter worth $258,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NRG Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore starts coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $215 price target (roughly a mid‑teens upside from recent levels), which can drive demand from institutional investors and momentum buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: NRG reported a large revenue beat and set long‑term targets: management is guiding to ~14% annual EPS growth through 2030 and highlighted that the LS Power integration has outperformed, supporting upside to future earnings and growth expectations. MSN: NRG targets 14% annual EPS growth
• Positive Sentiment: Full‑year 2025 metrics were strong on an adjusted basis (Adjusted EPS, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow before Growth all solid) and management says they’ve materially increased generation capacity — fundamentals that support valuation and shareholder returns. BusinessWire: Full Year 2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks moved NRG from “strong sell” to “hold” — a modest improvement in sentiment but not a bullish endorsement; useful for reducing downside perception but unlikely to spark large inflows by itself. Zacks.com
• Neutral Sentiment: Company presentation, earnings slides and the full earnings‑call transcript were posted (useful for modelers and active traders to parse guidance and commodity/exposure details). Seeking Alpha: Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports highlight that GAAP/Q4 EPS (~$1.03–$1.04) missed broader consensus figures cited by certain services (and GAAP net income was down), which creates headline risk and gave traders reason to pare positions despite the revenue/cash‑flow positives. MarketBeat: Earnings summary & press release

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.