Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP)

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 3,664 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 837% compared to the typical volume of 391 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNP. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI downgraded CenterPoint Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.30.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.99. 1,417,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,171,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $17.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy has a 52-week low of $25.42 and a 52-week high of $31.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.91.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 10.55%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 137.5% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 176.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 117.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.