LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Initiates Coverage on CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP)

Investment analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $34.50 price target on the utilities provider's stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH's price objective points to a potential upside of 8.12% from the stock's current price.

CNP has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.27.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $31.91. 4,126,559 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,270,033. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.37. CenterPoint Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $33.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in 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. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.