Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of CNP Q1 Earnings

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) – Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for CenterPoint Energy in a research note issued on Monday, December 23rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.56 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.55. The consensus estimate for CenterPoint Energy’s current full-year earnings is $1.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CenterPoint Energy’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.39 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.42 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CNP. Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 target price on the stock. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.27.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CNP stock opened at $32.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.53. 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 has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $33.00.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth about $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.28%.

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.