Wunderlich Maintains Buy On NRG Energy (NRG)

Wunderlich Securities maintains its Buy rating and $24 price target on shares of NRG Energy NRG. In a note to clients, Wunderlich writes, "NRG Energy (NRG) is scheduled to report 4Q earnings on Tuesday, February 22. We expect the company will report 4Q EPS of $0.13, but, more important, 4Q adjusted EBITDA of $462 million versus $489MM a year ago. This suggests 2010 adjusted EBITDA of $2.533 billion, within NRG's guidance range of $2.50-$2.55B. On the conference call to discuss results, we expect the company to: 1) maintain its existing 2011 guidance for adjusted EBITDA of $1.75-$1.95B, 2) disclose a capital allocation plan including a small share repurchase plan, and 3) discuss the recent cold weather in Texas and the impact on NRG, which we understand was modestly positive." Shares of NRG gained 8 cents yesterday to close at $20.84, a gain of 0.4%.