CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Upgraded by Truist Financial to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Truist Financial upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CNP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.15.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of CNP opened at $42.33 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.69 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.98 and a 200 day moving average of $40.45. CenterPoint Energy has a 52-week low of $35.46 and a 52-week high of $44.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 11.24%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.50%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 87,129,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,381,069,000 after buying an additional 833,374 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,381,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,158,492,000 after buying an additional 719,803 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 58,286,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,234,712,000 after buying an additional 6,794,535 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,941,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $802,916,000 after buying an additional 235,346 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,023,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $650,189,000 after buying an additional 166,305 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.