Analysts Set CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) PT at $30.58

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.27.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $31.95 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.39. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $33.00. The stock has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in the third 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. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 25.7% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 60,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 2.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 20,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.