CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Short Interest Update

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,190,000 shares, a drop of 6.0% from the October 15th total of 19,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $31.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.40 and its 200 day moving average is $29.10. CenterPoint Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $31.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.11.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 52.98%.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.09.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

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.