CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• CenterPoint Energy's stock reached a new 52-week high of $42.50 during trading, closing at $39.02, reflecting a strong interest from investors with over 2 million shares traded.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their price targets, with Barclays and BMO Capital Markets raising their targets to $39.00, while Scotiabank set a higher target of $42.00 and a "sector outperform" rating.
• The company reported an earnings miss for the last quarter with an EPS of $0.29, below the consensus estimate of $0.44, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share with a yield of 2.3%.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $42.50 and last traded at $39.02, with a volume of 2012114 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Mizuho set a $39.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.50.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.00 and a 200 day moving average of $37.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.58.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.15). CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 9.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.740-1.760 EPS. On average, analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is 61.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21,180 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 13,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market.

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