CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.82.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $40.09 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy has a twelve month low of $31.95 and a twelve month high of $40.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.68 and its 200 day moving average is $38.73. The company has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.59.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 2.3%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is 55.70%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 107.9% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.