Zacks Research Equities Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report issued on Tuesday, May 21st. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.45 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.43. The consensus estimate for CenterPoint Energy’s current full-year earnings is $1.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CenterPoint Energy’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.37 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.87 EPS.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 10.57%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS.

CNP has been the subject of a number of other reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.36.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CNP stock opened at $30.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.29. The company has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. CenterPoint Energy has a 12 month low of $25.42 and a 12 month high of $31.43.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 56.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Barry T. Smitherman sold 5,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $166,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $623,792.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 60.3% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Tobam purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 634.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.