CenterPoint Energy Inc. CNP focuses on consistent investments in infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, which has played a critical role in the company's expanding operations. Given its strong growth, CNP makes for a solid investment option 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 Projection
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNP’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 0.5% to $1.88 in the past 60 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNP’s revenues for 2025 stands at $9.05 billion, which indicates growth of 4.7% from the 2024 reported figure.
The company’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 7.8%.
CNP’s Dividend History
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 2.48%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's average of 1.24%.
During the first quarter of 2025, CNP paid $143 million in dividends compared to the year-ago figure of $126 million.
CNP’s Solvency
CenterPoint Energy’s times interest earned ratio (TIE) at the end of the first quarter of 2025 was 2.3. The TIE ratio greater than 1 suggests that the company will be able to meet its interest payment obligations in the near term without difficulty.
CNP’s Strategic Investment Framework
CenterPoint Energy spends frequently on infrastructure upgrades and maintenance as it expands its operations. The company's capital expenditure strategy for the next 10 years is $48.5 billion, with an investment goal of $4.8 billion in 2025. Such expenditures should enhance the company's customer dependability and deliver safe, resilient energy.
As part of its 10-year capital expenditure strategy, CenterPoint Energy plans to invest more than $3 billion in renewable energy generation and electric vehicle (EV) expansion. With these investments, the company anticipates generating around 1,000 megawatts of power from wind and solar energy sources by 2026.
How CNP Is Powering the Future of EV
To meet the needs of EV drivers and fleet operators, CenterPoint Energy has made major investments in developing a smarter, cleaner and more resilient ecosystem. To accomplish this, the company has aggressively pushed off-road electrification, including electric carts and forklifts.
As part of its net-zero emission strategy, CenterPoint Energy's corporate fleet plans to electrify all cars and SUVs by 2030. These actions should strengthen the company's position in the growing EV market.
CNP Stock Outperforms Industry
In the past six months, CNP shares have risen 10.8% compared with the industry’s growth of 5.7%.
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Other Stocks to Consider
A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are Fortis FTS, NiSource Inc. NI and Portland General Electric POR, each holding a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
FTS’ long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings per share (EPS) stands at $2.47, which indicates a year-over-year jump of 3.4%.
NI’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $1.88, which suggests a year-over-year rise of 7.4%.
POR’s long-term earnings growth rate is 3.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $3.21, which calls for a year-over-year improvement of 2.2%.
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Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpNiSource, Inc (NI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Portland General Electric Company (POR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Fortis (FTS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
