Analysts Set CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Price Target at $30.58

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.58.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $31.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.96. CenterPoint Energy has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $33.00.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.63%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 143,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 38,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 6,073 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 82.2% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 17,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 8,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth $1,816,000. 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.