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NRG Energy (NRG) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

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NRG Energy (NRG - Free Report) closed at $106.23 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.07% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.14%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.61%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.69%.

Heading into today, shares of the power company had lost 10.95% over the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's loss of 5.85% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.85%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of NRG Energy in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, NRG Energy is projected to report earnings of $3.66 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 33.09%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $7.29 billion, down 4.57% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $8.6 per share and revenue of $36.89 billion. These totals would mark changes of +6.57% and +20.12%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for NRG Energy should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 2.18% increase. NRG Energy is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, NRG Energy is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.32. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.92, which means NRG Energy is trading at a discount to the group.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 150, placing it within the bottom 40% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.

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