CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Receives $35.79 Average Target Price from Analysts

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.79.

CNP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim cut CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays upgraded CenterPoint Energy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter worth $25,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CNP opened at $37.53 on Wednesday. CenterPoint Energy has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $39.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.48. 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 cap of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 59.06%.

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.