CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America initiated 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 for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered CenterPoint Energy from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $28.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. KeyCorp cut CenterPoint Energy from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CenterPoint Energy from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a market perform rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $29.36.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE CNP opened at $28.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.20. CenterPoint Energy has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $31.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.47 and a 200-day moving average of $28.67.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 12.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNP. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 60.3% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.