NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Now Covered by Analysts at Evercore

Analysts at Evercore assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) in a research report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Evercore’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised NRG Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group began coverage on NRG Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $153.00 price target on NRG Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.67.

NRG Energy Price Performance

NRG stock traded down $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $183.45. 524,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,080,776. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $157.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.58. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $79.57 and a 52-week high of $189.96. The company has a market cap of $39.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34 and a beta of 1.27.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 4.84%.The business’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NRG Energy announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the utilities provider to purchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other NRG Energy news, CFO Bruce Chung sold 12,383 shares of NRG Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.56, for a total transaction of $1,938,682.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,254.32. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.76, for a total value of $7,144,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 63,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,147,939.20. This trade represents a 41.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,556 shares of company stock worth $27,550,446. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NRG. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,868,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,730,685,000 after acquiring an additional 234,666 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 178.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,676,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,222,409,000 after buying an additional 4,916,653 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in NRG Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,637,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $910,324,000 after buying an additional 82,162 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in NRG Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $790,471,000 after acquiring an additional 31,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $305,817,000. 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: Company reported robust full‑year 2025 adjusted results (Adjusted EPS $8.24, Adjusted EBITDA $4.1B, FCFbG $2.2B) and said it has doubled generation footprint — a strategic win for growth and cash generation. NRG Energy, Inc. Reports Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company is guiding to ~14% annual EPS growth through 2030 and says LS Power integration is outperforming — gives investors a multi‑year growth thesis. NRG targets 14% annual EPS growth through 2030 as LS Power integration outperforms
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue materially beat estimates and management boosted shareholder returns while issuing 2026 earnings and cash‑flow guidance — supports near‑term upside. NRG Energy Q4 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment ticked up as Zacks Research moved NRG from “strong sell” to “hold,” reducing short‑term analyst pressure. Zacks.com
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for detail‑oriented investors; use these to assess assumptions behind guidance. NRG Energy Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews and coverage highlight growth from data‑center contracts but note Texas market headwinds — mixed operational outlook to monitor. NRG Energy earnings up next: Can data center deals offset Texas headwinds?
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines flag GAAP quarterly EPS weakness and a reported miss on one consensus metric (quarterly GAAP EPS lower year‑over‑year), and outlets noted lower 4Q GAAP profit despite higher demand — a reminder of earnings mix and accounting volatility. NRG Earnings Release / Conference Call

NRG Energy Company Profile

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.