CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• CenterPoint Energy has a consensus “Hold” rating among 17 analysts: nine recommend buying, seven recommend holding, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $45.64, above the reported $42.12 opening price.
• The utility provider exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.40 in EPS versus the $0.37 consensus and $2.15 billion in revenue versus $2.12 billion expected. Management guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $1.89–$1.91.
• CenterPoint increased its quarterly dividend from $0.23 to $0.24 per share, equivalent to a $0.96 annualized payout and a 2.3% yield. Institutional investors own approximately 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.6429.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of CNP opened at $42.12 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy has a fifty-two week low of $36.60 and a fifty-two week high of $45.26. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.48. The firm has a market cap of $27.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 11.61%.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. Analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is 54.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,381,128 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,158,492,000 after purchasing an additional 719,803 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 58,286,690 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,234,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,794,535 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,941,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $802,916,000 after buying an additional 235,346 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,023,720 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $650,189,000 after buying an additional 166,305 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $343,925,000. 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.

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