CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.82.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:CNP opened at $39.46 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy has a 1 year low of $31.76 and a 1 year high of $40.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $25.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.59.

Insider Transactions at CenterPoint Energy

In other news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total value of $240,746.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,546,354.91. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 87,129,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,381,069,000 after acquiring an additional 833,374 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,661,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,168,459,000 after purchasing an additional 298,892 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 4.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,710,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $611,377,000 after buying an additional 652,202 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at about $313,456,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,859,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $288,765,000 after buying an additional 1,886,374 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

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.