# CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/CNP · data as of 2026-10-22 20:00 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP), nexqual.com/CNP" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 41.2 (+2.18% on the day) · last close of Oct 22, 2026; US market pre market, not a live price. Prev close 40.32 · day 40.52–41.23 · 52w 36.37–45.26 · market cap $27.1B · NYQ

## Key facts
- Last four reported quarters (through Jun 30, 2026): revenue $9.58B, net income $1.12B (11.7% margin), free cash flow -$2.69B (SEC filings).
- Valuation: P/E 24.3x (avg 21.2x at the last 3 fiscal year-ends), EV/EBITDA 12.7x, net debt $22.5B.
- Earnings quality: non-operating income -$914M (gains on equity investments -$279M) vs operating income $2.24B over the last four quarters; P/E excluding non-operating income ≈14.4x (estimate: non-operating income taxed at the company's 15.5% effective rate).
- 1 of 80 tracked superinvestors hold CNP (13F, Q2 2026): 0 new, 0 added, 1 reduced, 0 unchanged.
- Insider open-market purchases, last ~7 months: 1 Form 4 filing, $41K; 0 by opportunistic insiders, 0 by routine insiders.
- Analysts: Buy (mean 2.48 on a 1–5 scale) (21 analysts), mean target USD 44 (range 39–49).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +6.4% vs S&P 500 +14.9%; 5Y +76.1% vs S&P 500 +80.3%.
- Next earnings: 2026-10-27, EPS estimate USD 0.5, revenue estimate $2.13B.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.35B | $9.33B | $8.70B | $8.64B | $9.36B | $9.58B |
| Gross profit | $8.14B | $9.12B | $8.60B | $8.64B | $9.35B | — |
| Operating income | $1.36B | $1.57B | $1.76B | $1.99B | $2.11B | $2.24B |
| Net income | $1.49B | $1.06B | $917M | $1.02B | $1.05B | $1.12B |
| EPS (diluted) | $2.28 | $1.59 | $1.37 | $1.58 | $1.60 | — |
| Free cash flow | -$3.14B | -$2.61B | -$524M | -$2.37B | -$2.38B | -$2.69B |
| Gross margin | 97.5% | 97.8% | 98.9% | 100.0% | 100.0% | — |
| Operating margin | 16.3% | 16.8% | 20.2% | 23.0% | 22.5% | 23.3% |
| Net margin | 17.8% | 11.3% | 10.5% | 11.8% | 11.2% | 11.7% |
| Revenue growth | +12.6% | +11.7% | -6.8% | -0.6% | +8.3% | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $1.67B | $584M | $631M | $585M | $548M | — |
| Total debt | $16.1B | $16.9B | $18.6B | $21.0B | $23.0B | — |
Fiscal years end Dec. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Jun 30, 2026)
P/E 24.3x · P/E ex non-operating (est.) ≈14.4x · P/S 2.8x · EV/EBITDA 12.7x · EV/Sales 5.2x · P/B 2.3x · FCF yield -9.93% · Earnings yield 4.12% · Dividend yield (paid, TTM) 2.17% · Net debt $22.5B · EV $49.6B
P/E at fiscal year-ends: Dec 2025 23.9x, Dec 2024 20.1x, Dec 2023 19.7x.

## Superinvestors (SEC 13F-HR, Q2 2026)
1 of 80 tracked investors hold CNP. Each row is the investor's latest 13F; change is vs their prior-quarter share count.
| Investor | Firm | % of portfolio | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Rogers | Ariel Investments | 0.20% | $20.3M | Reduced -3.5% |

## Insider purchases (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
1 purchase, $41K. Private placements, offerings, dividend reinvestment and employee stock purchase plan buys are excluded.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | Avg price | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-17 | Fitch Laurie Lee | Director | 1,000 | $41K | 40.7 | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2024) |
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Analysts
Consensus Buy (mean 2.48 on a 1–5 scale), 21 analysts; mean target USD 44 (low 39, high 49).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-22 | TD Cowen | Initiated | Buy | $47 |
| 2026-10-22 | HSBC | Initiated | Buy | $44 |
| 2026-10-21 | Morgan Stanley | Target raised | Equal-Weight | $38 → $39 |
| 2026-10-19 | Barclays | Target lowered | Equal-Weight | $44 → $41 |
| 2026-10-19 | BMO Capital | Target lowered | Outperform | $48 → $45 |
| 2026-10-13 | JP Morgan | Target lowered | Neutral | $46 → $44 |
| 2026-10-13 | Keybanc | Target lowered | Overweight | $46 → $44 |
| 2026-10-12 | Truist Securities | Target lowered | Buy | $46 → $44 |
| 2026-10-08 | Citigroup | Target lowered | Neutral | $47 → $43 |
| 2026-09-18 | Morgan Stanley | Target lowered | Equal-Weight | $39 → $38 |
| 2026-09-15 | RBC Capital | Initiated | Sector Perform | $40 |
| 2026-08-21 | Morgan Stanley | Target lowered | Equal-Weight | $40 → $39 |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-23) | 5Y (from 2021-10-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +6.4% | +76.1% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.9% | +80.3% |
| Per year | +6.4% | +11.9% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 17.7% | 19.4% |
| Max drawdown | -18.2% (Jun 2026→Sep 2026) | -21.2% (Sep 2022→Oct 2022) |

## Peers (Utilities - Regulated Electric)
FE (FirstEnergy Corp.) USD 46.49 +2.15% · PPL (PPL Corporation) USD 35.35 +2.23% · DTE (DTE Energy Company) USD 133.06 +2.63% · ES (Eversource Energy (D/B/A)) USD 67.84 +3.41% · FTS (Fortis Inc.) USD 57.88 +3.41% · AEE (Ameren Corporation) USD 108.94 +2.31%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/CNP · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Revenue by business segment (quarter ended 2026-06-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric | $1.38B | 64.2% | +15.6% |
| Natural Gas | $775.0M | 36.0% | +2.5% |
| Corporate and Other | $3.0M | 0.1% | +50.0% |
| Total revenue | $2.15B | 100% | — |

## Revenue by product line (fiscal year ended 2025-12-31)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Gas Sales | $4.27B | 45.6% | +11.2% |
| Electric Delivery | $4.11B | 43.9% | +3.7% |
| Retail Electric Sales | $736.0M | 7.9% | +18.3% |
| Energy Products Or Services | $216.0M | 2.3% | +4.9% |
| Wholesale Electric Sales | $19.0M | 0.2% | +375.0% |
| Gas Transportationand Processing | $11.0M | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| Total revenue | $9.36B | 100% | — |

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-09-30) | $0.50 | $0.50 | -0.6% | $2.13B | 13 |
| Next quarter (ends 2026-12-31) | $0.45 | $0.47 | -4.7% | $2.52B | 11 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-12-31) | $1.91 | $1.91 | +0.0% | $9.94B | 21 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-12-31) | $2.09 | $2.09 | +0.1% | $10.41B | 21 |