Brokerages Set CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) PT at $30.18

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.18.

CNP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 21st.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $29.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. CenterPoint Energy has a twelve month low of $25.42 and a twelve month high of $31.43.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 10.55% and a return on equity of 10.44%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3.4% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 97,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 1.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 793,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,616,000 after acquiring an additional 11,046 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 18.6% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 7,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. now owns 47,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,358,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 52,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.