CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Competitors $36.12 -0.03 (-0.07%) As of 02:26 PM Eastern This is a fair market value price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrendsBuy This Stock CNP vs. AEP, EVRG, LNT, AEE, ATO, CMS, NI, OGE, PPL, and WECShould you be buying CenterPoint Energy stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of CenterPoint Energy include American Electric Power (AEP), Evergy (EVRG), Alliant Energy (LNT), Ameren (AEE), Atmos Energy (ATO), CMS Energy (CMS), NiSource (NI), OGE Energy (OGE), PPL (PPL), and WEC Energy Group (WEC). These companies are all part of the "utilities" sector. CenterPoint Energy vs. Its Competitors American Electric Power Evergy Alliant Energy Ameren Atmos Energy CMS Energy NiSource OGE Energy PPL WEC Energy Group American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) and CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations. Does the media prefer AEP or CNP? In the previous week, American Electric Power had 19 more articles in the media than CenterPoint Energy. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for American Electric Power and 7 mentions for CenterPoint Energy. CenterPoint Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat American Electric Power's score of 1.26 indicating that CenterPoint Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment American Electric Power 19 Very Positive mention(s) 2 Positive mention(s) 4 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive CenterPoint Energy 5 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 2 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Is AEP or CNP more profitable? American Electric Power has a net margin of 13.73% compared to CenterPoint Energy's net margin of 10.80%. American Electric Power's return on equity of 11.68% beat CenterPoint Energy's return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets American Electric Power13.73% 11.68% 3.08% CenterPoint Energy 10.80%9.74%2.41% Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of AEP or CNP? 75.2% of American Electric Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.8% of CenterPoint Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Electric Power shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of CenterPoint Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. Do analysts recommend AEP or CNP? American Electric Power currently has a consensus price target of $108.31, suggesting a potential upside of 3.05%. CenterPoint Energy has a consensus price target of $36.04, suggesting a potential downside of 0.20%. Given American Electric Power's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe American Electric Power is more favorable than CenterPoint Energy.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score American Electric Power 1 Sell rating(s) 7 Hold rating(s) 5 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.31CenterPoint Energy 0 Sell rating(s) 9 Hold rating(s) 5 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.36 Which has higher earnings and valuation, AEP or CNP? American Electric Power has higher revenue and earnings than CenterPoint Energy. American Electric Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CenterPoint Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioAmerican Electric Power$19.72B2.85$2.97B$5.1920.25CenterPoint Energy$8.64B2.73$1.02B$1.4924.24 Which has more volatility and risk, AEP or CNP? American Electric Power has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CenterPoint Energy has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Is AEP or CNP a better dividend stock? American Electric Power pays an annual dividend of $3.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. CenterPoint Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Electric Power pays out 71.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CenterPoint Energy pays out 59.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. American Electric Power has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years and CenterPoint Energy has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. American Electric Power is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. SummaryAmerican Electric Power beats CenterPoint Energy on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks. Get CenterPoint Energy News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for CNP and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding CNP and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart CNP vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricCenterPoint EnergyUTIL IndustryUtilities SectorNYSE ExchangeMarket Cap$23.54B$24.52B$15.78B$20.66BDividend Yield2.43%3.75%5.62%3.71%P/E Ratio24.2034.4120.1527.83Price / Sales2.734.02149.2954.91Price / Cash9.508.8719.1917.94Price / Book2.212.222.154.60Net Income$1.02B$1.43B$751.12M$989.58M7 Day Performance-0.26%-0.41%12.73%1.02%1 Month Performance-0.48%1.33%22.82%5.31%1 Year Performance19.19%16.17%145.56%10.51% CenterPoint Energy Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)CNPCenterPoint Energy3.9735 of 5 stars$36.12-0.1%$36.04-0.2%+19.2%$23.54B$8.64B24.208,872Positive NewsAEPAmerican Electric Power4.3927 of 5 stars$104.17+0.3%$108.31+4.0%+15.8%$55.65B$19.72B20.0716,330Positive NewsEVRGEvergy3.8365 of 5 stars$69.30-1.3%$73.19+5.6%+25.3%$15.95B$5.85B18.244,731Trending NewsLNTAlliant Energy4.5909 of 5 stars$61.95+0.7%$64.32+3.8%+15.2%$15.91B$4.08B21.362,998Positive NewsAnalyst ForecastAEEAmeren4.0116 of 5 stars$95.84-0.2%$101.64+6.0%+30.2%$25.90B$7.62B21.258,981Analyst ForecastATOAtmos Energy4.2022 of 5 stars$152.75+0.3%$156.05+2.2%+27.6%$24.26B$4.17B21.225,260Positive NewsCMSCMS Energy3.8869 of 5 stars$69.60-1.2%$77.00+10.6%+15.0%$20.82B$7.52B20.658,324NINiSource4.4601 of 5 stars$39.62+0.2%$41.50+4.7%+31.6%$18.65B$5.46B21.427,746Positive NewsOGEOGE Energy4.0458 of 5 stars$43.99-1.1%$46.80+6.4%+20.6%$8.86B$2.99B18.182,291Positive NewsPPLPPL3.2937 of 5 stars$33.70-0.3%$36.70+8.9%+20.5%$24.91B$8.46B24.966,653Positive NewsWECWEC Energy Group4.6331 of 5 stars$104.330.0%$106.33+1.9%+30.6%$33.29B$8.60B20.347,017Positive NewsAnalyst Forecast Related Companies and Tools Related Companies American Electric Power Alternatives Evergy Alternatives Alliant Energy Alternatives Ameren Alternatives Atmos Energy Alternatives CMS Energy Alternatives NiSource Alternatives OGE Energy Alternatives PPL Alternatives WEC Energy Group Alternatives Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (NYSE:CNP) was last updated on 7/14/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersYour Bank Account Is No Longer SafeWhat If Washington Declared That: YOUR Money ISN'T Actually Yours? 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