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Diverse Customers & Debt Management Aid NRG Energy (NRG)

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NRG Energy (NRG - Free Report) has been gaining from the acquisition of Direct Energy and stable demand from a wide variety of customers. NRG Energy’s focus on the generation of clean energy and proper debt management through its transformational activities is likely to drive the performance over the long run.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NRG Energy’s 2022 earnings has moved up by 4.2% in the past 30 days to $6.70 per share. NRG’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is currently pegged at 10.4%.

NRG Energy currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). NRG Energy’s current dividend yield of 3.8% is better than the industry average of 3.02%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Tailwinds

In January 2021, NRG Energy completed the acquisition of Direct Energy for net $3.42 billion, which advanced the company’s customer-focused strategy and enhanced data and analytics. NRG realized a planned synergy target of $175 million in 2021 and expects to realize annual synergies of $225 million and $300 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

NRG Energy sells electricity to a wide variety of customers and none of them contributed more than 10% to the company’s revenues as of Dec 31, 2021. Since the company does not depend on a single customer to generate its revenues, the migration of customers to other operators is not going to have a significant impact on the company’s earnings.

NRG Energy’s long-term debt and finance leases amounted to $7,966 million as of Dec 31, 2021, down from $8,691 million as of Dec 31, 2020. In October 2021, the utility redeemed $500 million worth 6.625% senior notes due 2027. Also, it does not have any maturity until 2024.

NRG Energy is focusing on a clean generation of energy to lower emissions and targets to achieve a 50% emission cut by 2025 and net-zero emissions by 2050 from the 2014 baseline.

Headwinds

NRG Energy operates in a highly competitive wholesale power market and needs to follow strict Federal, State and local rules and regulations. NRG relies on natural gas, coal and oil to fuel the majority of power generation facilities and any disruption in fuel supplies can adversely impact the company’s prospects.

Price Performance

In the past six months, shares of NRG Energy have declined 10.7% against the industry’s 10.8% rise.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the same industry are Xcel Energy (XEL - Free Report) , PNM Resources and WEC Energy (WEC - Free Report) , each currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings per share of Xcel Energy, PNM Resources and WEC Energy has moved up 7.43%, 4.08% and 4.62%, respectively, year over year.

The long-term earnings growth of Xcel Energy, PNM Resources and WEC Energy is projected at 6.4%, 5% and 6%, respectively.

XEL, PNM and WEC delivered an average earnings surprise of 2.1%, 40% and 9.1%, respectively, in the last four quarters.


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