CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Receives $42.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.5455.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CNP shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $44.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, February 19th.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth about $26,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 107.9% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CNP opened at $43.40 on Tuesday. CenterPoint Energy has a 1-year low of $33.24 and a 1-year high of $44.04. The company has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 11.24%.The business had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900- EPS. Research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.50%.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.