CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.27.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $31.73 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.55. CenterPoint Energy has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $33.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 847,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,930,000 after acquiring an additional 56,037 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 143,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 38,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after buying an additional 6,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 17,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 8,110 shares in the last quarter. 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.