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CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

  • Utility Companies to Watch, Or Watch Out For

    By Chris Hodge - May 10, 2013 | Tickers: AVA, CNP, EXC

    Utility stocks come from companies where there's a lot of room to upgrade and two solid moats. For one thing, people in the modern world love their utilities. For another, most of these companies are protected by being among the few legal monopolies going. But are the following companies reasonable deals with security and value, or are they value traps? Let's take a look.

    Exelon (NYSE: EXC) is more »

  • This Electric Utility Stock Is a Buy

    By Shas Dey - May 10, 2013 | Tickers: CNP, NEE, SO

    Southern Company (NYSE: SO) operates in the United States with a power generating capacity of nearly 46,000 megawatts to 4.4 million customers. The company, with its subsidiaries, operates hydroelectric, natural gas, coal, and nuclear generation sources to generate electricity.

    The company recently announced an increase in its annual dividend by $0.07 to $2.03 per share. This is the seventh consecutive year that Southern Company has raised more »

  • A Good Investment in the Utility Sector

    By Shas Dey - April 22, 2013 | Tickers: CNP, DUK, SO

    Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) is an energy company owning nuclear, natural gas, coal-fired and hydroelectric generation. Headquartered in Charlotte, Duke operates in the United States providing nearly 20000 megawatts of owned electric capacity to over 2 million customers. It is a Fortune 250 company having a diverse fuel mix. Although utility companies are unlikely to experience substantial capital appreciation, this one is a worthwhile investment.

    Electric utilities industry

    The main more »

  • A good investment in the utility sector

    By Shas Dey - April 17, 2013 | Tickers: CNP, DUK, SO

    Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) is an energy company owning nuclear, natural gas, coal-fired and hydroelectric generation. Headquartered in Charlotte, Duke operates in the United States providing nearly 20000 megawatts of owned electric capacity to over 2 million customers. It is a Fortune 250 company having a diverse fuel mix. Though utility stocks are unlikely to double in value in the next few months, this one is a worthwhile investment.

    Electric more »

  • Utilities: Reasonable Safety, Nice Dividends And Now Capital Gains?

    By Bob Chandler - March 9, 2013 | Tickers: GAS, CNP, POR, XLU

    Utility stocks have long been considered a sound investment. They offer both consistent income and safety of principal. In return, they're expected to have limited capital gains potential.

    However, the sector may be offering better opportunities for price appreciation than seen in the past. Utilities have not been immune to the volatility provided by the market's current trading-based mentality. While this volatility might pose discomforting share price drops more »

  • 5 Reasons to Buy Utility Stocks

    By Declan Fallon - March 7, 2013 | Tickers: CNP, DUK, EQT, XLU

    Utility stocks have received very little interest, despite a favorable environment.  Here are five reasons why you should consider utility stocks now.

    1. Low interest rates
    The utility sector  enjoys its best performance during  periods of low interest. Utility stocks are traditionally highly leveraged, requiring large amounts of capital.  High interest rates eat into utilities' profits, and offer little wiggle room when it comes to retiring or refinancing existing debt more »

  • The Right Energy Company to Invest In

    By tarun bachhawat - November 13, 2012 | Tickers: AEP, CNP, DUK

    U.S.-based energy company Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) reported its earnings on Thursday, Nov. 8. The company has reported tremendous growth in both earnings and revenue resulting from the merger with Raleigh-based Progress Energy and growth in customer numbers.

    Facts & Figures

    Duke Energy's latest numbers are very good, with the company’s earnings and revenues both have exceeded analyst’s estimates. In it's third quarter Duke posted more »

  • 3 Utilities Where Multiples are Out of Touch With Growth

    By David Gould - September 24, 2012 | Tickers: CNP, D, SCG

    If there had to be one sector that I would have to opt out from altogether, it would definitely be utilities. Aside from regulatory hurdles, utilities often have high multiples for low growth. 3.5%+ dividend distributions are attractive, but this will come less of a selling point should dividend taxes be hiked 164% as proposed by the Obama administration. In addition, there are plenty of companies, like Mattel, BP more »

  • Do You Really Know What Natural Gas Offers the Investor

    By John Mylant - September 18, 2012 | Tickers: CNP, EPD, SM, XEL

    While we have heard how the low prices of natural gas has hindered many businesses because of revenue shortfalls, I believe investors will find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Not many people have seen it but many of the opportunities abound for investors in both growth and income investing. Let’s look at what natural gas has done right now for some utilities and what more »

  • Duke, CenterPoint Both Overvalued, Not Worth the "Safety"

    By David Gould - September 14, 2012 | Tickers: CNP, CEG, DUK, PGN

    There are few sectors that I am not interested in investing in. I tend to not buy into the "stock picking" claims of the so-called "experts" and believe that it will often lead investors into unpredictable market collapses. The key is diversification in backing attractive undervalued assets while staying away from the bubbles. Finding the next "winner" is very hard in an efficient market hypothesis.

    In an ironic sense, it more »

  • CenterPoint Energy a Great Value Buy

    By Jordo Bivona - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: AEP, APA, CNP, FE, SD

    Even with the volatile oil and gas market, there are still some great values for investors in this sector. CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) has had strong earnings of late, with estimates of continued earnings per share growth over the next year. In this article, I will discuss why CenterPoint could prove to be profitable for investors for the rest of 2012 and throughout 2013.

    Analyzing the Fundamentals

    The news for more »

  • Does This Dividend Aristocrat Give You Gas?

    By Chad Henage - August 14, 2012 | Tickers: BKH, CNP, MDU, STR

    I've read several articles suggesting that stocks that pay dividends are so much in favor, that there might be a dividend bubble much like the famous dot.com bubble of the year 2000. However, not all dividend paying companies are created equally, and this year 14 new names were added to the dividend aristocrat list. One of the new names that was added this year was MDU Resources Group (NYSE: MDU). The company is an oil and natural gas exploration company, construction materials company, and a diversified electric and natural gas distributor all rolled into one. Many investors assume that utilities all basically work the same and look for higher yield as the defining factor between which stock to buy. However, for a company to be a good long-term investment we need to look not only at yield, but also payout ratio and dividend growth.

  • When Gas Turns Around

    By Patrick King - April 26, 2012 | Tickers: APA, CNP, CHK

    Natural gas has been trading at multi-decade lows, and natural gas companies' mismanagement has been getting a lot of press...

    ... it doesn't seem like a natural time to invest in NG companies. Besides the bad news above, both PG&E and Chesapeake more »

  • Edison International Soars Past Analysts’ Expectations

    By Arthur Pinkasovitch - March 1, 2012 | Tickers: CNP, EIX, NWN, NVE, POR

    Edison International (NYSE: EIX) soared past analysts’ expectations as earnings per share amounted to $0.75, in contrast to consensus estimates of $0.46. As a result, the stock jumped 3.25% following the announcement which corresponds with the general upward trend witnessed since August of last year, when shares were trading at under $33. However, once non-core items were factored in, such as the impairment on the MidWest Generation more »

  • 3 Companies Ready to Beat the Market

    By Michael French - January 29, 2012 | Tickers: AEE, AEO, CNP, DUK, DRE

    2011 ended with lingering fears of global and US growth.  So far, I have seen very little to lift the markets.  The European crisis is expected to negatively impact the global economy.  Domestic growth in the US is being revised down and the foreclosure crisis is expected to continue for some time.  The number of new foreclosures dropped sharply in 2011.  This decline is due primarily to moratoriums and reviews more »

  • 5 Excellent Utilities for Safety and Yield

    By Michael French - January 17, 2012 | Tickers: CWT, CNP, NJR, SJI, AES

    I recommended these five utilities in May and June of 2011. Since then, the share prices have remained relatively stable despite turmoil in the markets. I still suggest them because of their healthy growth prospects, and for some, there are dividend payments.

    AES (NYSE: AES) is projected to grow non-GAAP EPS by 29.7% in 2012. The company is a global power company that provides energy in 28 countries. It more »