Zacks Research Has Bearish Forecast for CNP FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has lowered its FY2026 earnings per share estimate for CenterPoint Energy to $1.88, down from $1.89, which is above the current consensus estimate of $1.75 per share.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for CenterPoint Energy, with Barclays, JPMorgan, and Mizuho setting targets between $38.00 and $40.00, while the consensus rating remains as "Hold."
• CenterPoint Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22, representing an annualized payout of $0.88 and a yield of 2.3%.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2026 EPS estimates for CenterPoint Energy in a report released on Monday, September 1st. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.88 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $1.89. The consensus estimate for CenterPoint Energy's current full-year earnings is $1.75 per share.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on CNP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho set a $39.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $38.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.71.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 1.3%

CNP stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.31. 3,955,762 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,236,429. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79. CenterPoint Energy has a 1-year low of $26.32 and a 1-year high of $39.39. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $37.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.79. The company has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.15). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 10.42%.The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.740-1.760 EPS.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $313,456,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $92,025,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $78,632,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,859,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $288,765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 2,845.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,938,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872,429 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.