CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Downgraded by Guggenheim to “Neutral”

Guggenheim downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CNP. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.38.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $32.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. CenterPoint Energy has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $33.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.68.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNP. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,083,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $442,231,000 after buying an additional 370,790 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 5,009,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $147,387,000 after purchasing an additional 247,944 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,956,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,398,000 after purchasing an additional 110,905 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 2.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,177,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,478,000 after purchasing an additional 65,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 8.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,611,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,914,000 after purchasing an additional 200,693 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.