Wall Street Zen Downgrades CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) to Sell

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

A number of other research firms have also commented on CNP. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. KeyCorp raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.82.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNP opened at $42.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.85. CenterPoint Energy has a one year low of $33.24 and a one year high of $42.57. The firm has a market cap of $27.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNP. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 486,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,878,000 after acquiring an additional 15,754 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 7,220,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,146,000 after buying an additional 962,910 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 23.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 350,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,611,000 after acquiring an additional 83,127 shares during the period. Finally, OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $19,274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

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.