CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 10,004 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,186% compared to the typical volume of 778 put options.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, HSBC started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.29.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CNP
CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance
NYSE CNP opened at $42.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.57. The company has a market cap of $28.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.43. CenterPoint Energy has a 1-year low of $36.37 and a 1-year high of $45.26.
CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.86%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ethic Inc. increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 83.0% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 126,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,657,000 after purchasing an additional 57,410 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 10.8% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,195,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,812,000 after purchasing an additional 701,167 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 77,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 5,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About CenterPoint Energy
CenterPoint Energy, Inc is a public utility holding company that provides electric and natural gas energy services in the United States. Its operations include electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, and related infrastructure services for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
The company is the primary electric delivery utility for the Houston, Texas, area and operates electric and natural gas businesses in several states, including Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
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