CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.09 and last traded at $42.72, with a volume of 320528 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $42.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CNP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.82.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.88. The firm has a market cap of $27.99 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 55.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 646,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,803,000 after purchasing an additional 10,072 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 210,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,085,000 after acquiring an additional 17,442 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $187,000. Delta Global Management LP acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,854,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 146.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 85,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 51,101 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.