CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on CNP. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Barclays raised their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.00.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNP traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.31. 7,825,604 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,594,218. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.24 and a 200 day moving average of $28.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy has a 1 year low of $25.42 and a 1 year high of $31.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.25.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 10.57%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Barry T. Smitherman sold 5,670 shares of CenterPoint Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $166,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,203 shares in the company, valued at $623,792.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at $33,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Tobam bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 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.