FY2024 EPS Estimate for CenterPoint Energy Lifted by Analyst

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) – Equities research analysts at Scotiabank increased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst A. Weisel now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $1.63 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.61. Scotiabank has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for CenterPoint Energy’s current full-year earnings is $1.62 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for CenterPoint Energy’s FY2025 earnings at $1.75 EPS.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on CNP. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.27.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CNP stock opened at $31.22 on Monday. CenterPoint Energy has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $33.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.56. The firm has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.95. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.28%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $2,564,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $908,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,898,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,863,000 after purchasing an additional 24,400 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,052,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,630,000 after buying an additional 124,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $705,000. 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.