Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Forecast for CNP Earnings

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) – Zacks Research upped their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for CenterPoint Energy in a report released on Monday, December 23rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.56 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.55. The consensus estimate for CenterPoint Energy’s current full-year earnings is $1.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CenterPoint Energy’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.39 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.42 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.27.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

CNP stock opened at $32.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.96. CenterPoint Energy has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $33.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 25.7% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 60,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 20,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 40,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

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.