NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Stock Price Target Cut by Morgan Stanley

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had its price target cut by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $159.00 to $144.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 43.76% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $214.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $131.00 price objective on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.50.

NRG Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG traded up $2.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $100.17. 780,115 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,740,481. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $93.36 and a 52-week high of $189.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $108.41 and a 200 day moving average of $128.89. 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 company has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 1.17.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last announced 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 net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 52.95%. The company had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NRG Energy will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, CAO Gerald Alfred Spencer sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.93, for a total value of $191,069.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,213 shares in the company, valued at $751,338.09. This represents a 20.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in NRG Energy by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in NRG Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in NRG Energy by 83.8% during the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

About NRG Energy

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.