Morgan Stanley Trims CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Target Price to $29.00

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP – Get Rating) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $33.00 to $29.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.35% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CNP. Credit Suisse Group started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, April 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 19th. Mizuho lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.17.

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.06. 32,004 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,603,795. The stock has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.87. CenterPoint Energy has a 52 week low of $24.23 and a 52 week high of $33.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.79 and its 200-day moving average is $29.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 19.30%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brasada Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter valued at about $3,550,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 35.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,509,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,541,000 after purchasing an additional 911,681 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 58,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,795,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter worth $6,707,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 70.7% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CenterPoint Energy (Get Rating)

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through Electric and Natural Gas segments. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as assets in the wholesale power market.

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