CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $33.13 and last traded at $33.12, with a volume of 1037720 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.46.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 2.4 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.95.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 83,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,469,000 after purchasing an additional 10,970 shares in the last quarter. Seven Grand Managers LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,884,000. Teilinger Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,478,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $1,039,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 11.7% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 21,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 2,290 shares during the last quarter. 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.