CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Stock Price Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $41.58 and traded as low as $40.25. CenterPoint Energy shares last traded at $41.0360, with a volume of 20,802,466 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Evercore set a $43.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Mizuho set a $43.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.29.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 54.86%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNP. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 91,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,380,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 58.1% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 24,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $905,000 after buying an additional 9,034 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 138,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,083,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth about $132,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 83.0% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 126,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,657,000 after buying an additional 57,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc is a public utility holding company that provides electric and natural gas energy services in the United States. Its operations include electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, and related infrastructure services for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

The company is the primary electric delivery utility for the Houston, Texas, area and operates electric and natural gas businesses in several states, including Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, and Mississippi.