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

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $43.27 and last traded at $43.1850, with a volume of 2884890 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.3%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.59.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900- EPS. Equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 57.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 31,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.1% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 13,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 9.0% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. 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.