Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Stock Price

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) had its price objective increased by Mizuho from $38.00 to $39.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Argus raised CenterPoint Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.21.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of CNP stock opened at $38.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. CenterPoint Energy has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $39.31. The company has a market capitalization of $25.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.57.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.15). CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 9.16%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $254,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 363,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,545,000 after buying an additional 12,401 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 157,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 8,134 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 10,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 571,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,146,000 after buying an additional 25,039 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.