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

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.04.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the first quarter worth about $25,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE CNP opened at $36.59 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $39.31. The firm has a market cap of $23.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.59.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.06%.

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.