CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $36.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. CenterPoint Energy traded as high as $35.79 and last traded at $35.78, with a volume of 312892 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.48.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. On average, analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.35%.

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.