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Sectors & IndustriesUtilitiesUtilities - Independent Power Producers
Best Independent Power Producer Stocks to Buy Now (2026)
Top independent power producer stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best independent power producer stocks to buy now. Learn More.

Industry: Utilities - Independent P...
OverviewZen RatingPriceValueGrowthFinancials
MomentumSentimentForecastDividendsDue Diligence
D
Independent Power Producers is Zen Rated D and is the 115th ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries
Learn how the Zen Ratings work
Ticker
Company
Zen Rating
Financials
Market Cap
ROE
ROA
ROCE
ROIC
D/E
Current Ratio
Gross Margin
Profit Margin
Operating Margin
PAM
PAMPA ENERGY INC
$4.31B11.00%5.80%13.05%11.70%0.833.1131.50%18.90%38.89%
KEN
KENON HOLDINGS LTD
$4.85B4.40%1.40%3.62%3.90%1.384.9416.80%7.60%20.79%
NRG
NRG ENERGY INC
$32.93B36.60%3.10%8.88%9.10%16.341.6419.40%2.60%6.10%
TLN
TALEN ENERGY CORP
$17.01B-17.60%-3.10%1.38%1.30%8.981.2934.70%-8.50%5.27%
VST
VISTRA CORP
$52.32B15.10%1.90%7.74%5.50%7.150.7848.70%4.20%12.98%
TAC
TRANSALTA CORP
$3.70B-8.80%-1.50%3.31%2.30%5.140.7359.00%-5.70%9.40%
DGXX
DIGI POWER X INC
$262.48M-51.90%-44.40%-22.83%-85.60%0.0910.97-9.40%-82.90%-83.78%
1

Independent Power Producer Stocks FAQ

What are the best independent power producer stocks to buy right now in May 2026?

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best independent power producer stocks to buy right now are:

1. Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM)


Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM) is the #1 top independent power producer stock out of 7 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is 6 points higher than the independent power producer industry average of 27.

PAM passed 10 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Pampa Energy has seen its stock return 12.81% over the past year, underperforming other independent power producer stocks by -35 percentage points.

Pampa Energy has an average 1 year price target of $97.00, an upside of 22.4% from Pampa Energy's current stock price of $79.25.

Pampa Energy stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Pampa Energy, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

2. Kenon Holdings (NYSE:KEN)


Kenon Holdings (NYSE:KEN) is the #2 top independent power producer stock out of 7 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Kenon Holdings (NYSE:KEN) is: Value: D, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Kenon Holdings (NYSE:KEN) has a Due Diligence Score of 20, which is -7 points lower than the independent power producer industry average of 27.

KEN passed 6 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Kenon Holdings has seen its stock return 203.36% over the past year, overperforming other independent power producer stocks by 155 percentage points.

3. Nrg Energy (NYSE:NRG)


Nrg Energy (NYSE:NRG) is the #3 top independent power producer stock out of 7 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Nrg Energy (NYSE:NRG) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: D, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Nrg Energy (NYSE:NRG) has a Due Diligence Score of 37, which is 10 points higher than the independent power producer industry average of 27.

NRG passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Nrg Energy has seen its stock return 34.37% over the past year, underperforming other independent power producer stocks by -14 percentage points.

Nrg Energy has an average 1 year price target of $191.00, an upside of 24.54% from Nrg Energy's current stock price of $153.37.

Nrg Energy stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Nrg Energy, 57.14% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 14.29% have issued a Buy, 28.57% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

What are the independent power producer stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 4 independent power producer stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 independent power producer stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Kenon Holdings (NYSE:KEN)


Kenon Holdings (NYSE:KEN) has an annual dividend yield of 4.14%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the independent power producer industry average of 1.67%. Kenon Holdings's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Kenon Holdings's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Kenon Holdings's dividend payout ratio of 303.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

2. Nrg Energy (NYSE:NRG)


Nrg Energy (NYSE:NRG) has an annual dividend yield of 1.2%, which is the same as the independent power producer industry average of 1.67%. Nrg Energy's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Nrg Energy's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Nrg Energy's dividend payout ratio of 43.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

3. Transalta (NYSE:TAC)


Transalta (NYSE:TAC) has an annual dividend yield of 0.76%, which is -1 percentage points lower than the independent power producer industry average of 1.67%. Transalta's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Transalta's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Transalta's dividend payout ratio of -49% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Why are independent power producer stocks down?

Independent power producer stocks were down -0.83% in the last day, and up 0.32% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why independent power producer stocks are down.

What are the most undervalued independent power producer stocks?

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued independent power producer stocks right now are:

1. Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM)


Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM) is the most undervalued independent power producer stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Pampa Energy has a valuation score of 43, which is 27 points higher than the independent power producer industry average of 16. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Pampa Energy's stock has gained 12.81% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the independent power producer industry by -35 percentage points.

2. Nrg Energy (NYSE:NRG)


Nrg Energy (NYSE:NRG) is the second most undervalued independent power producer stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Nrg Energy has a valuation score of 14, which is -2 points higher than the independent power producer industry average of 16. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nrg Energy's stock has gained 34.37% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the independent power producer industry by -14 percentage points.

3. Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN)


Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN) is the third most undervalued independent power producer stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Talen Energy has a valuation score of 0, which is -16 points higher than the independent power producer industry average of 16. It passed 0 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Talen Energy's stock has gained 66.63% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the independent power producer industry by 18 percentage points.

Are independent power producer stocks a good buy now?

66.67% of independent power producer stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect independent power producer stocks to rise by 29.52% over the next year.

14.29% of independent power producer stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 0% of independent power producer stocks are rated B (Buy), 71.43% are rated C (Hold), 14.29% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the utilities - independent power producers industry?

The average P/E ratio of the utilities - independent power producers industry is 33.61x.
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