CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on CenterPoint Energy, with nine buy ratings and nine hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $44.93, above the stock’s reported price of $38.22.
• Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company, with several funds increasing their positions during the second quarter, including Tidal Investments, which raised its holdings by 448.5%.
• CenterPoint exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.40 EPS versus a $0.37 estimate, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 from $0.23, producing a 2.5% annualized yield.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.9333.

A number of research firms have issued reports on CNP. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 price objective on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore set a $43.00 target price on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, August 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $150,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,806 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 448.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 130,375 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,742,000 after purchasing an additional 106,605 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 971,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at about $3,470,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:CNP opened at $38.22 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy has a 12 month low of $37.22 and a 12 month high of $45.26. The firm has a market cap of $25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The company's 50 day moving average is $40.86 and its 200-day moving average is $42.25.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.03. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.47%.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc NYSE: CNP is an energy delivery company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Its primary businesses include electric transmission and distribution and natural gas distribution, with operations focused on delivering energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers rather than producing most of the energy it supplies.

CenterPoint operates electric utility infrastructure in the Houston metropolitan area and in southwestern Indiana. The company also provides natural gas distribution services in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Ohio.

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