The latest trading session saw NRG Energy (NRG) ending at $102.68, denoting a +0.23% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.76%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.28%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 1.2%.

The power company's stock has climbed by 4% in the past month, exceeding the Utilities sector's gain of 1.37% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.71%.

The upcoming earnings release of NRG Energy will be of great interest to investors. In that report, analysts expect NRG Energy to post earnings of $1.05 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 7.89%.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for NRG Energy should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.4% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Currently, NRG Energy is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, NRG Energy is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.65. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.72.

One should further note that NRG currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.21. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Utility - Electric Power was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.54 at yesterday's closing price.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 140, which puts it in the bottom 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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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