Brokerages Set CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) PT at $30.58

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.58.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CNP shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CNP stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.66. 2,842,546 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,293,917. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.33. 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 capitalization of $20.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.96. CenterPoint Energy has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $33.00.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is currently 55.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Railway Pension Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,758,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 46.6% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,666,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $144,570,000 after buying an additional 1,484,079 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 566.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,744,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,330,000 after buying an additional 1,482,966 shares during the period. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $42,548,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at $31,188,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.