CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Receives $45.36 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.3571.

CNP has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $39.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.25 and a 200-day moving average of $42.59. CenterPoint Energy has a 52-week low of $36.60 and a 52-week high of $45.26. The stock has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 2.32 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.

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

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.47%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 165.0% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.