NRG Energy Stock Leads S&P 500 Gains Tuesday After Upgrade From Jefferies

NRG Energy (NRG) was the S&P 500’s best-performing constituent Tuesday after Jefferies analysts upgraded the stock and raised their price target, saying “investors are sleeping” on the energy company.

In a note to clients Tuesday, the analysts lifted their rating for NRG stock to “buy” from “hold” and raised their price target to $113 from $93, implying about 12% upside from Tuesday’s closing price of $101.16. Shares of NRG jumped close to 10% Tuesday and have nearly doubled in value so far in 2024. 

NRG Energy, along with other utilities companies including Vistra (VST) and Constellation Energy (CEG), have seen their shares soar this year on expectations they could benefit from growing energy demand for data centers to support artificial intelligence (AI).

However, Jefferies suggested investors could still be underestimating NRG’s growth potential, writing that NRG may have “less upside from data centers than peers,” but they believe “far less is priced-in today.”

“Investors have largely overlooked NRG as the business has shifted to be more consumer-focused from generation-oriented, which creates a cleaner setup for shares,” they added.

Jefferies also indicated NRG could announce an initial site deal with a data center when it reports its December quarter earnings, which would represent “an important milestone” for the company.