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

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.43 billion. NRG Energy had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 70.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NRG traded down $3.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $138.12. The company had a trading volume of 2,447,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,759,256. The company has a fifty day moving average of $157.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 162.50 and a beta of 1.32. NRG Energy has a 12 month low of $117.43 and a 12 month high of $189.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 223.53%.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NRG Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,868,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,730,685,000 after buying an additional 234,666 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $790,471,000 after purchasing an additional 31,238 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 124.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,808,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $287,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,672 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,515,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,322,000 after purchasing an additional 72,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,368,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,671,000 after purchasing an additional 409,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on NRG. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $197.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of NRG Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $210.00 target price on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $198.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $203.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.57.

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.