CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $34.98 and last traded at $34.70, with a volume of 1361720 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.77.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.02. The company has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. Analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.