CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Given New $30.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) had its price target lifted by Scotiabank from $28.00 to $30.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

CNP has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com lowered CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.09.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $28.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy has a one year low of $25.41 and a one year high of $31.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy 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 issued a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 38.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,602,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $302,070,000 after acquiring an additional 2,961,464 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $63,758,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 46.6% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,666,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,079 shares during the last quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,548,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,188,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

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.