NRG Energy (NRG) closed the most recent trading day at $95.20, moving -0.58% from the previous trading session. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 1.97%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 1.69%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 2.7%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the power company had lost 8.9% over the past month. This has lagged the Utilities sector's gain of 1.07% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.79% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of NRG Energy in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, NRG Energy is projected to report earnings of $0.72 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 10%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $2.72 billion, down 63.43% from the year-ago period.
NRG's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $7.16 per share and revenue of $23.18 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +7.83% and -17.59%, respectively.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for NRG Energy. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 1.65% downward. NRG Energy presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that NRG Energy has a Forward P/E ratio of 13.37 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.1, which means NRG Energy is trading at a discount to the group.
We can also see that NRG currently has a PEG ratio of 1.18. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Utility - Electric Power industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.74 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 60, finds itself in the top 24% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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