Guggenheim Downgrades CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) to Neutral

Guggenheim cut shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

CNP has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.38.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $32.37 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.95 and a 200-day moving average of $29.70. CenterPoint Energy has a 1 year low of $25.41 and a 1 year high of $33.12.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 58.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.