CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) had its target price hoisted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $34.00 to $36.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 3.12% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CNP. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 target price for the company. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.77.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CNP traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $34.91. 565,881 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,182,585. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $35.02.

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

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 847,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,930,000 after acquiring an additional 56,037 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 77.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 22,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 9,619 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 219,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,469,000 after purchasing an additional 33,516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.