<div id="readability-page-1"><p>CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of &#34;Hold&#34; by the fourteen brokerages that are currently  covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to  the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.04.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>CenterPoint Energy</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>The Top 4 Utilities for Value, Yield, and Upside Potential</li></ul><p>A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a &#34;market perform&#34; rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays raised CenterPoint Energy from an &#34;underweight&#34; rating to an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Argus raised CenterPoint Energy to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Stock Report on CenterPoint Energy</b></p><h2>CenterPoint Energy Price Performance</h2><p>Shares of CNP opened at $36.29 on Thursday. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $39.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $23.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.59. </p><p>CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS.  Analysts anticipate that  CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement</h2><p>The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date  was Thursday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio  is currently 59.06%. </p><h2>Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy</h2><p>A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in  CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000.  N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in  CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000.  Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in  CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000.  J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in  CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000.  Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in  CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. </p><h2>About CenterPoint Energy</h2> (Get Free Report<p>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.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than CenterPoint Energy</li><li>Options Trading - Understanding  Strike Price</li><li>Top 3 Bank Stocks to Watch as Fed Rate Cuts Loom</li><li>How to Read Stock Charts for Beginners</li><li>Uber and Tesla Surge on Robotaxis, Analyst Touts Texas Rides</li><li>TSX Venture Exchange (Formerly Canadian Venture Exchange)</li><li>ASML Keeps Buying Back Its Own Stock—Chasing Discount and Upside</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUNOUA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="600" height="385" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUNOUA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in CenterPoint Energy Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider CenterPoint Energy, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and CenterPoint Energy wasn't on the list.</p><p>While CenterPoint Energy currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has received an average rating of "Hold" from fourteen brokerages, with nine analysts recommending a hold and five a buy. The average one-year price target is $36.04. Recent reports include BMO Capital Markets raising its price target to $36.00 and Evercore ISI increasing it to $41.00. The stock opened at $36.29, with a 12-month range of $25.41 to $39.31. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.</p>

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts