JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Price Target to $45.00

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CNP. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $45.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.69.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:CNP opened at $41.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.48. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $35.46 and a 12-month high of $44.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 10.56%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $343,925,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 13.2% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 6,794,535 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,261,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $278,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,865 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,722,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $296,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 2,493,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149,637 shares during the period. 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.