CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $36.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. CenterPoint Energy traded as high as $35.79 and last traded at $35.78, with a volume of 312892 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.48.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CNP. Barclays raised their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.30.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.40. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.