NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG+5.2%) rallies to a 52-week high following a strong Q2 earnings report and bullish comments from analysts at Goldman Sachs, which reiterates its Buy rating and $53 price target on the stock.
Goldman views NRG as "a robust free cash flow generator," and it expects the company to buy back 19% of its market cap between now and year-end 2023.
Despite earlier headwinds related to Winter Storm Uri, "we still see a path for multiple expansion moving forward given NRG's strong free cash flow generation, benefits and synergies from the Direct Energy acquisition, and capital allocation via share buybacks," Goldman's Michael Lapides writes.
NRG reported a Q2 $1.2B profit vs. a $313M profit in the year-ago quarter, while revenues rose 133% to $5.24B, largely driven by favorable weather that boosted the performance of the company's electric and natural gas businesses.