CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $33.00 and last traded at $32.85, with a volume of 581225 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.58.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.96.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.63%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,083,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $442,231,000 after purchasing an additional 370,790 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 5.2% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 5,009,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $147,387,000 after acquiring an additional 247,944 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 46.6% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,666,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,570,000 after buying an additional 1,484,079 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.3% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,043,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,275,000 after buying an additional 53,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,956,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,398,000 after purchasing an additional 110,905 shares during 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.