CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Receives $31.38 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.46.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNP opened at $32.55 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. CenterPoint Energy has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $33.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.11.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNP. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 85,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,721,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 98,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 40,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 1,955 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 13,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.