CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.06 and last traded at $41.0450, with a volume of 3176750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.82.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

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 paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.70%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $343,925,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 31.6% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,859,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $288,765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,374 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,261,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $278,390,000 after buying an additional 1,728,865 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,609,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,135,000 after buying an additional 1,568,714 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,362,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,989,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301,374 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

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.