Brokerages Set CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Price Target at $30.58

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.58.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CNP. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CNP opened at $31.39 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.53 and a 200-day moving average of $29.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.96. CenterPoint Energy has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $33.00.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 25.7% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 2.4% during the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 19,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 60,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 20,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market.