NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.30 EPS

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.30), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.43 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 70.67% and a net margin of 0.74%.NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. NRG Energy updated its FY 2026 guidance to 7.900-9.900 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from NRG Energy’s conference call:

• Reaffirmed 2026 guidance as the business is “tracking to plan” with Q1 adjusted EBITDA of $1.08B and adjusted EPS of $1.49, and management says integration of the LS Power portfolio is underway and performing ahead of expectations.
• T.E.F. development on schedule: T.H. Wharton is expected online in May on time, on budget and qualifying for the TEF completion bonus, and three TEF projects will add 1.5 GW (serving ~300k Texas homes) — a claimed competitive advantage in new gas build capability.
• Management highlights a potentially massive demand shift (ERCOT pipeline >367 GW by 2033 vs ~85 GW record peak) and sees up to 2 GW of upgrade/conversion opportunities in PJM, but outcomes depend on interconnection, contracts and evolving regulation.
• Balance-sheet and shareholder actions: the company closed $3.5B of new financing (Apr 28) to deleverage post-acquisition, expects ~$1B of debt repayment this year, has repurchased $817M to date, and remains committed to returning at least $1.4B to shareholders.
• Q1 performance was weighed by unusually mild Texas weather and timing of Winter Storm Fern (the LS assets closed Jan 30 and missed most of the storm), and higher interest expense and D&A from the acquisition drove lower year‑over‑year adjusted net income and EPS.

NRG Energy Stock Down 2.6%

NYSE:NRG traded down $3.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $138.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,447,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,759,256. NRG Energy has a 1 year low of $117.43 and a 1 year high of $189.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $157.32 and a 200-day moving average of $160.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 162.50 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 223.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $232.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $197.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.65, for a total value of $783,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 55,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,693,291.75. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NRG Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $99,000. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 821.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 522,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,265,000 after buying an additional 466,115 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,889,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 814,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,832,000 after buying an additional 39,567 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.