CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CNP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.91.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CNP traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $30.18. 9,267,398 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,408,865. CenterPoint Energy has a 52-week low of $25.41 and a 52-week high of $31.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.87. The firm has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth about $33,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 60.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently 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.