CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $33.13 and last traded at $33.12, with a volume of 1037720 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.58.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim cut CenterPoint Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $34.50 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.46.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CNP
CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.0 %
The stock has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50 day moving average price is $32.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.92.
CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.63%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 45,573,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,446,036,000 after purchasing an additional 27,799,744 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $164,350,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $158,232,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1,431.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,408,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $108,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $97,348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.
CenterPoint Energy Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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