Wells Fargo & Company Raises CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Price Target to $32.00

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $28.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut CenterPoint Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp lowered CenterPoint Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.91.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE CNP traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.11. 4,654,439 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,388,618. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy has a 52-week low of $25.41 and a 52-week high of $31.57.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 10.81%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter worth $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 60.3% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.