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Here's Why You Must Add CenterPoint Stock to Your Portfolio Now

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CenterPoint Energy Inc. (CNP - Free Report) , with its rising earnings estimates, strategic investments, robust ROE, better solvency and strong dividend history, offers a great investment opportunity in the Zacks Utility Electric Power industry.

Let us focus on the reasons that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong investment pick at the moment.

CNP’s Growth Projections & Surprise History
 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CenterPoint Energy’s 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 0.6% to $1.75 per share in the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNP’s revenues for 2025 stands at $8.80 billion, which indicates growth of 1.8% from the 2024 reported figure.

The company’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is pegged at 7.1%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 0.76% in the last four quarters.

CNP’s Return on Equity
 

Return on equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing its funds to generate higher returns. Currently, CNP’s ROE is 10.02% compared with the industry’s 9.89%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing its funds more constructively than its peers in the industry.

CNP’s Solvency & Liquidity
 

CenterPoint Energy’s times interest earned ratio (TIE) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 was 2.4. The TIE ratio of more than 1 indicates that the company will be able to meet its interest payment obligations in the near term without any problems.

CNP’s current ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 was 1.08, higher than the industry’s average of 0.73. The ratio, being greater than one, indicates the company’s ability to meet its future short-term liabilities without difficulties.

Dividend History of CNP
 

CenterPoint Energy has been increasing shareholder value by steadily paying dividends. Currently, the company’s quarterly dividend is 22 cents per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of 88 cents. The company’s current dividend yield is 2.55%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's average of 1.30%.

CNP’s Systematic Investments
 

CenterPoint Energy consistently invests in upgrading and maintaining its infrastructure while expanding operations. The company's capital expenditure plan over the next 10 years is $47 billion to $47.5 billion, with an investment aim of $4.8 billion in 2025. Such investments should improve the company’s customer reliability and provide safe, resilient energy.

CNP Stock Price Performance
 

In the past three months, CNP shares have risen 8.1% compared with the industry’s growth of 1.9%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks to Consider
 

A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are CMS Energy Corporation (CMS - Free Report) , NiSource Inc. (NI - Free Report) and Ameren Corporation (AEE - Free Report) , each holding a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

CMS’ long-term earnings growth rate is 7.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $3.60, which indicates a year-over-year improvement of 7.8%.  

NI’s long-term earnings growth rate is 8.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $1.91, which suggests a year-over-year rise of 9.1%.  

AEE’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $4.94, which calls for a year-over-year improvement of 6.7%.

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