CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $34.09 and last traded at $33.79, with a volume of 5587705 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price target on the stock. Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.46.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $22.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.17.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CNP. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 375 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 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.