CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $36.37 and last traded at $36.84, with a volume of 113223 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.93.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $24.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.98.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. Analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 58,286,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,234,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,794,535 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,941,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $802,916,000 after buying an additional 235,346 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $770,871,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $343,925,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $332,753,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE:CNP) is an energy delivery company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company focuses on electric and natural gas utility operations, delivering essential energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

CenterPoint operates electric transmission and distribution systems in the Houston metropolitan area and parts of southwestern Indiana. It also provides natural gas distribution and related energy services in several states, including Texas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Ohio.