CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Research Coverage Started at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $34.50 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

CNP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.27.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

CNP opened at $31.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.62 and its 200 day moving average is $29.41. CenterPoint Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $33.00.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 55.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 185.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 235,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,287,000 after buying an additional 152,878 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 459.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 110.2% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,548,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.