Is Centrica (LSE:CNA) Undervalued On Its Broker Upgrade And Infrastructure Growth?

Simply Wall St · 16h ago

Centrica (LSE:CNA) drew fresh attention after a major brokerage shifted its rating to buy from hold, citing what it views as overlooked opportunities in retail and infrastructure operations, as well as potential benefits from nuclear life extensions and redevelopment projects.

The brokerage upgrade lands after a mixed run for Centrica, with the share price delivering a 3.1% gain over the past month but falling 12.3% year to date. Total shareholder return is down 10.8% over one year, yet up strongly over five years at the current £1.529 level.

Scan beyond Centrica and spot other utility players that brokers may be reassessing with our curated list of 4 resilient stocks with low risk scores aligned with resilient fundamentals and steadier risk profiles.

Bulls point to Centrica’s upgraded rating, retail scale and infrastructure projects. Bears see a lagging share price and past volatility in returns. Which story does the current valuation actually support next?

Most Popular Narrative: 26% Undervalued

Centrica’s most followed narrative points to a fair value of £2.06, comfortably above the recent £1.53 close, which puts the broker upgrade into sharper context.

Expanding investment in regulated and contracted infrastructure such as Sizewell C, Grain LNG and the Meter Asset Provider, which together contributed about £80m of EBITDA in H1 2026 and are expected to reach roughly £175m in 2026, points to a growing base of long-duration earnings that can raise the share of predictable EBITDA and support more stable net margins.

See why 52 investors see Centrica as 26% undervalued.

Result: Fair Value of £2.06 (UNDERVALUED)

Still, rising retail bad debt and a £1.9b pile of overdue receivables, together with softer optimization EBITDA expectations, could easily challenge this Centrica undervaluation story.

Find out about the key risks to this Centrica narrative.

Next Steps

If the mix of optimism and concern around Centrica feels finely balanced, treat that as your cue to act quickly and test the numbers yourself with the 5 key rewards and 2 important warning signs.

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