CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.80.

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNP. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $30.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.06. CenterPoint Energy has a 12 month low of $25.42 and a 12 month high of $31.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.63.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is 56.34%.

Insider Activity

In other CenterPoint Energy news, Director Barry T. Smitherman sold 5,670 shares of CenterPoint Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $166,811.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $623,792.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 174.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 4,158 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.1% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 104,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,923,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 17,545,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $499,962,000 after purchasing an additional 556,802 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 5,891 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 86.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 88,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 40,878 shares during the last quarter. 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.