CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.82.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP stock opened at $38.74 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy has a twelve month low of $31.76 and a twelve month high of $40.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.50. The company has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.59.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of CenterPoint Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total value of $240,746.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 65,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,546,354.91. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNP. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 107.9% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth $30,000. 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.