CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $36.97 and last traded at $36.51, with a volume of 300482 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CNP. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price target for the company. UBS Group raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.77.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. On average, research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 124,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,653,000 after buying an additional 4,663 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 113,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,345,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,177,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,478,000 after purchasing an additional 65,139 shares during the period. Lavaca Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,059,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 171.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 8,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 5,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.