CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Upgraded by Evercore ISI to “Outperform” Rating

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Evercore ISI currently has $37.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $36.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CNP. Scotiabank upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 target price for the company. UBS Group raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.77.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CNP opened at $34.55 on Tuesday. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $35.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.02.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.40. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 55.35%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 156.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 45,573,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,446,036,000 after purchasing an additional 27,799,744 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $164,350,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $158,232,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1,431.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,408,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,348,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.