Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Stock Price

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) had its target price dropped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 0.63% from the stock’s previous close.

CNP has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Friday, September 11th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.93.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

CNP opened at $38.24 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy has a 1 year low of $37.22 and a 1 year high of $45.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.12.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at about $150,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 9.5% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 448.5% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 130,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,742,000 after buying an additional 106,605 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.5% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 971,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,772,000 after buying an additional 5,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,470,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE:CNP) is an energy delivery company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Its primary businesses include electric transmission and distribution and natural gas distribution, with operations focused on delivering energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers rather than producing most of the energy it supplies.

CenterPoint operates electric utility infrastructure in the Houston metropolitan area and in southwestern Indiana. The company also provides natural gas distribution services in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Ohio.