CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Now Covered by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s price target points to a potential upside of 7.98% from the stock’s current price.

CNP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.27.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CNP opened at $31.95 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.62 and its 200 day moving average is $29.41. CenterPoint Energy has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $33.00. 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 company has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.96.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 185.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 235,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,287,000 after purchasing an additional 152,878 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 18.7% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 78,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,442,000 after buying an additional 12,422 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,564,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $908,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,052,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,630,000 after acquiring an additional 124,529 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.