CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a neutral rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $29.55.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

CNP opened at $29.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $31.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNP. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 60.3% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.