Brokerages Set CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Target Price at $42.00

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.5455.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CNP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:CNP opened at $43.66 on Tuesday. CenterPoint Energy has a fifty-two week low of $33.28 and a fifty-two week high of $44.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.32.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 11.24%.The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900- EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.50%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $254,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 15.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 76,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,757,000 after buying an additional 10,277 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 5.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 69,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after buying an additional 3,821 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 55,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after acquiring an additional 15,922 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.