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

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.36.

Several analysts recently weighed in on CNP shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, August 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.1% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 19,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 13,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 60.3% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $28.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $31.57.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 12.28%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.34%.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.