Analysts Set CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Price Target at $44.93

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.9333.

CNP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Friday, September 11th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 1.9%

CNP opened at $37.12 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy has a fifty-two week low of $37.04 and a fifty-two week high of $45.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.50 and its 200 day moving average is $42.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 11.61%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. Research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 165.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidFirst Bank bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE:CNP) is an energy delivery company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Its primary businesses include electric transmission and distribution and natural gas distribution, with operations focused on delivering energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers rather than producing most of the energy it supplies.

CenterPoint operates electric utility infrastructure in the Houston metropolitan area and in southwestern Indiana. The company also provides natural gas distribution services in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Ohio.