CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.09 and last traded at $33.09, with a volume of 2750413 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CNP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim lowered CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.27.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.95.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.63%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth $265,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $306,000. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 14,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 116,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,706,000 after acquiring an additional 10,800 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.