CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $36.97 and last traded at $36.51, with a volume of 300482 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CNP shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.46.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $33.99 and its 200 day moving average is $31.88.

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CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.