CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.06 and last traded at $41.0450, with a volume of 3176750 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets raised CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.82.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.59.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $343,925,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 31.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,859,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $288,765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,374 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,261,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $278,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,865 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3,842.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,609,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,362,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,989,256,000 after buying an additional 1,301,374 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.