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

Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $44.41 and last traded at $44.3150, with a volume of 506560 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $44.00 price objective on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.60.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.17. The firm has a market cap of $29.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.54.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 11.24%.The company had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.3% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 486,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,878,000 after buying an additional 15,754 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 15.4% during the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 7,220,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,146,000 after buying an additional 962,910 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 23.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 171,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,636,000 after buying an additional 32,344 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 31.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 350,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,611,000 after buying an additional 83,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 522,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,133,000 after buying an additional 65,440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.