Brokerages Set CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) PT at $45.36

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.3571.

CNP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Evercore set a $43.00 target price on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, August 17th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of CNP stock opened at $39.29 on Tuesday. CenterPoint Energy has a fifty-two week low of $36.60 and a fifty-two week high of $45.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 11.10%. 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 business earned $0.29 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 56.47%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 165.0% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.