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

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

CNP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.46.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.95.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CNP. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 309,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,807,000 after purchasing an additional 78,969 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $262,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,489,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,734,000 after buying an additional 312,518 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,242,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 17,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 2,658 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.