BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Stock

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) had its price objective increased by BMO Capital Markets from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

CNP has been the subject of several other reports. Guggenheim cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $36.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNP opened at $35.59 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.24. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $35.88. The firm has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. Equities research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 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.