Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Estimate for CNP Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has raised its Q1 2026 earnings per share estimate for CenterPoint Energy to $0.50, indicating a positive outlook for the utilities provider.
• Several research firms have increased their price targets for CenterPoint Energy, with Scotiabank raising its target from $40.00 to $42.00 and maintaining a "sector outperform" rating.
• CenterPoint Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $0.88, maintaining a dividend yield of 2.3%.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for CenterPoint Energy in a research report issued on Monday, September 1st. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $0.50 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.49. The consensus estimate for CenterPoint Energy's current full-year earnings is $1.75 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CenterPoint Energy's Q2 2026 earnings at $0.34 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.52 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $0.42 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CNP. Wall Street Zen cut CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays increased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $38.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.71.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

NYSE CNP traded up $0.32 on Wednesday, hitting $37.78. 5,087,073 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,235,525. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.54 and a 200-day moving average of $36.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. CenterPoint Energy has a 52 week low of $26.32 and a 52 week high of $39.39. The stock has a market cap of $24.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.58.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.15). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 10.42%.The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.740-1.760 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

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.