NRG Energy (NRG) closed at $97.84 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.55% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.28%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.02%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.02%.
Heading into today, shares of the power company had lost 3.78% over the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's gain of 0.49% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.67%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of NRG Energy in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $3.48, signifying a 26.55% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $7.34 billion, down 3.93% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.61 per share and revenue of $36.89 billion, which would represent changes of +6.69% and +20.12%, respectively, from the prior year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for NRG Energy. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. NRG Energy presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, NRG Energy is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.54. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 17.08.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 156, placing it within the bottom 37% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).