CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) remains in the spotlight as utilities race to meet surging electricity demand from AI data centers, population growth and ongoing grid-hardening efforts. As of December 4, 2025, CenterPoint’s share price trades around $38.38, leaving the stock a few percentage points below its 52‑week high and roughly in line with Wall Street’s “steady grower” expectations. [1]
At the same time, the company is reshaping its portfolio, ramping up capital spending, and partnering with technology heavyweights—moves that could influence CenterPoint’s earnings trajectory and valuation over the coming decade.
This article brings together the most recent news, analyst forecasts and fundamental developments affecting CNP stock as of December 4, 2025, to give investors a clear, up‑to‑date snapshot.
CenterPoint Energy (CNP) at a Glance
CenterPoint Energy is an investor‑owned electric and natural gas utility headquartered in Houston, Texas. It provides electric transmission and distribution and natural gas distribution services to more than 7 million metered customers across Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas, with a particularly large electric footprint in the Houston area. [2]
The company is an S&P 500 component and operates in a heavily regulated environment, which typically provides:
- Relatively predictable, rate‑regulated returns
- Strong linkage between capital investment and future earnings
- Sensitivity to interest rates and regulatory outcomes
That combination makes CNP a classic “steady utility” story—but one that is increasingly tied to data‑center power demand and extreme‑weather resilience.
Latest CNP Stock Performance (Early December 2025)
As of December 4, 2025, CNP is trading at $38.38 per share, more than 5% below its 52‑week high of $40.50 reached in late September. [3]
Recent trading action has been choppy:
- On December 1, the stock fell 2.13% to $39.13, ending a two‑day winning streak but still outperforming several large utility peers in a broadly negative session. [4]
- On December 2, CNP dropped another 1.99% to $38.35, underperforming both the S&P 500 and the Dow as they eked out gains. [5]
- Short‑term technical data show the stock has declined in 6 of the last 10 trading days, with a roughly 4% pullback over that span, even though intraday volatility has remained moderate. [6]
Trading volume has oscillated around or slightly above the 50‑day average, suggesting normal liquidity rather than panic selling. [7]
In short, CNP is off recent highs but far from distressed territory, trading in a range where fundamentals and future growth drivers matter more than short‑term price swings.
Fresh News Moving CenterPoint Energy in December 2025
1. Partnership with Palantir and Nvidia on AI‑Driven Data Center Build‑Out
On December 4, 2025, Reuters reported a new collaboration between Palantir Technologies, Nvidia and CenterPoint Energy on a software platform called “Chain Reaction.” The goal: use AI to streamline the complex permitting, supply‑chain and construction workflows involved in building AI data centers, which require massive and highly reliable power connections. [8]
For CenterPoint, this partnership:
- Reinforces its role as a key grid infrastructure provider in a rapidly expanding data‑center corridor
- Ties the company more visibly to AI‑driven power demand, a major secular theme for U.S. utilities
- Could help accelerate project timelines, which is critical when capital spending is tightly linked to regulated returns
While financial terms weren’t disclosed, the collaboration signals that CNP is actively positioning itself at the intersection of digital infrastructure and regulated utility investment.
2. Expanded Capital Plan to Serve Data Center Load
Earlier this year, Reuters reported that CenterPoint increased its 10‑year capital expenditure plan from $48.5 billion to $52.5 billion through 2030, citing anticipated power demand from AI data centers and broader load growth—particularly in Texas. About $4 billion of this stepped‑up capex is earmarked for new projects in Texas, where the utility has seen nearly 7 gigawatts of new connection requests since January. [9]
This higher capital plan is a core driver of the company’s projected rate‑base growth and earnings growth over the next decade.
3. Sale of the Ohio Gas Distribution Business
In October 2025, CenterPoint announced an agreement to sell its Ohio natural gas distribution business to National Fuel Gas for approximately $2.62 billion. The divested assets include around 5,900 miles of pipeline serving about 335,000 customers. [10]
Key implications of this deal:
- The transaction, valued at roughly 1.9x the 2024 rate base, is expected to bolster CenterPoint’s balance sheet. [11]
- Proceeds, expected in 2026 and 2027, are planned to be reinvested into higher‑growth regulated businesses in Texas, Indiana and Minnesota, supporting the broader multi‑year capital plan. [12]
This reflects an ongoing strategic shift: streamline the portfolio and concentrate on jurisdictions and segments where CenterPoint sees the strongest long‑term growth and regulatory alignment.
4. Houston‑Area Outages Highlight Grid Resiliency Focus
Around December 2, a cold front in the Houston area led to power outages affecting more than 30,000 CenterPoint customers, primarily in northern Harris County suburbs such as Spring, Klein and Tomball. The incident stemmed from an equipment issue during planned upgrades; most customers saw outages under an hour, and power was largely restored by late morning. [13]
While 99.8% of customers remained unaffected, episodes like this keep grid reliability and storm hardening in the spotlight—particularly after the massive outages tied to Hurricane Beryl in 2024. CenterPoint’s previously announced Systemwide Resiliency Plan for its Houston electric system, and its June 2025 settlement agreement on that plan, aim to strengthen the grid against extreme weather. [14]
Earnings Snapshot: Q3 2025 Beat and Guidance
CenterPoint’s most recent reported quarter, Q3 2025, was solid:
- The company reported GAAP EPS of $0.45 and non‑GAAP EPS of $0.50, with adjusted earnings exceeding Wall Street consensus by roughly 13%. [15]
- Revenue was slightly below expectations, but management reiterated full‑year 2025 and 2026 guidance, underscoring confidence in the long‑term capital plan and load‑growth outlook. [16]
Earlier in 2025, the company also reported “solid” Q1 results while maintaining its 2025 full‑year guidance and highlighting strong Texas load growth, especially around Houston. [17]
Across investor presentations and third‑party analyses, CenterPoint has outlined targets of roughly 11% annual rate‑base growth and 7%–9% annual EPS growth through 2030, supported by a decade‑long capital investment plan in the tens of billions of dollars. [18]
Taken together, the earnings trajectory and guidance frame CNP as a regulated-growth utility rather than a pure yield play.
Capital Plan, Resiliency and Balance Sheet
CenterPoint’s multi‑year strategy is built on three pillars:
- High‑Confidence Capital Investment
The company has outlined 10‑year capital plans ranging from roughly $52.5 billion through 2030 to as much as $65 billion over a slightly longer horizon, depending on time frame and regulatory assumptions. These plans fund:- New transmission and distribution infrastructure
- Data‑center and industrial load connections
- System resiliency and reliability upgrades in storm‑prone areas like Houston [19]
- Regulatory and Resiliency Initiatives
A June 2025 settlement on the Systemwide Resiliency Plan is designed to harden the Houston electric system against extreme events, aligning customer reliability expectations with the company’s desire to earn returns on large infrastructure investments. [20] - Funding and Equity Strategy
To support this capex without over‑leveraging, CenterPoint has used a mix of debt and equity, including a May 2025 common stock offering with a forward component, and now the planned Ohio asset sale. [21]
Overall, the company is attempting to manage the classic utility balancing act: invest aggressively enough to grow earnings while keeping the balance sheet and customer bills within acceptable bounds.
Dividend Profile: Income with Moderate Yield
CenterPoint remains a dividend‑paying utility, though its yield is modest compared with some peers.
- In September 2025, the board declared a regular quarterly common stock dividend of $0.22 per share. [22]
- On an annualized basis ($0.88 per share), that implies a dividend yield of roughly 2.3% at a $38.38 share price—lower than some high‑yield utilities but more in line with a company emphasizing EPS and rate‑base growth over pure income. [23]
Investors focused primarily on income might see the yield as modest, but those looking for total return—dividends plus potential EPS‑driven price appreciation—may view the payout as a steady base.
Analyst Ratings and CenterPoint Energy Stock Forecasts
Across multiple platforms, Wall Street’s stance on CNP is broadly constructive:
- MarketBeat reports an average 12‑month price target of about $41.50, based on 14 analysts, with a range from roughly $34.50 to $46.00. From the ~$38.4 recent price, that implies around 8% upside at the midpoint. [24]
- StockAnalysis aggregates 12 analysts with a “Buy” consensus rating and an average target of $41.29, or around 7–8% upside over the next year. [25]
- Zacks’ target range runs from about $39 to $46, again skewing toward a high‑30s to low‑40s price band. [26]
- Public.com also notes a “Buy” consensus among 11 covering analysts, with an average 2025 price estimate near $41.32. [27]
While methodologies differ slightly, the message is consistent: analysts generally expect mid‑single‑digit to high‑single‑digit percentage upside from current levels, anchored by the company’s capital plan, load growth and EPS guidance.
Of course, these targets are forecasts, not guarantees, and are subject to change based on interest rates, regulatory decisions, storm impacts and macroeconomic conditions.
Institutional Interest and Ownership Trends
Institutional investors continue to adjust positions in CenterPoint:
- A recent filing showed Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in CNP by about 6.2% in Q2, bringing its holdings to roughly 586,766 shares valued at over $21 million, representing about 0.09% of the company. [28]
While any single fund’s move should not be overinterpreted, steady institutional engagement tends to reinforce liquidity and research coverage, which in turn supports CNP’s role as a widely followed utility stock.
Short‑Term Technical Picture
From a shorter‑term trading perspective:
- CNP has seen a modest pullback (~4%) over the last 10 sessions, with several down days interspersed with small rebounds. [29]
- Daily price moves have generally stayed within 1–3%, consistent with typical utility volatility rather than speculative swings. [30]
Technical‑oriented traders might view the current level as a pause below the 52‑week high, waiting on the next macro catalysts (interest‑rate expectations, regulatory filings, or new load announcements) to determine direction.
Key Themes for CNP Investors to Watch
For investors tracking CenterPoint Energy into 2026 and beyond, several themes stand out:
- Data Center and Industrial Load Growth
- Rising AI and cloud data‑center demand is already driving a larger capex plan in Texas and pushing CenterPoint into partnerships with tech players like Palantir and Nvidia. [31]
- Execution on the Multi‑Year Capital Plan
- The company’s ability to execute tens of billions of dollars in projects on time and on budget—while still earning allowed returns—will be central to achieving the targeted 7–9% EPS growth. [32]
- Regulatory and Resiliency Outcomes
- The Systemwide Resiliency Plan, recent outage performance and extreme‑weather events will shape regulatory relationships and potential recovery of storm‑hardening costs in Houston and other jurisdictions. [33]
- Portfolio Simplification and Reinvestment
- The sale of the Ohio gas business and reinvestment of proceeds into core electric and gas territories will test management’s ability to optimize the asset mix for growth and stability. [34]
- Interest‑Rate Environment
- As with most utilities, higher‑for‑longer interest rates can pressure valuations and financing costs, while easing rates tend to support regulated, dividend‑paying stocks like CNP.
Bottom Line
As of December 4, 2025, CenterPoint Energy sits at the intersection of traditional regulated utility stability and fast‑evolving AI‑driven power demand. The stock trades below its recent high but within a relatively tight range, supported by a clear multi‑year investment story, modest dividend income and generally positive analyst sentiment.
Nothing in this article is individualized investment advice, but the current mix of:
- Robust capital spending plans,
- Strategic portfolio moves,
- Strong load‑growth tailwinds, and
- Manageable, though real, grid‑reliability and regulatory risks
References
1. www.marketwatch.com, 2. www.centerpointenergy.com, 3. www.marketwatch.com, 4. www.marketwatch.com, 5. www.marketwatch.com, 6. intellectia.ai, 7. www.marketwatch.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.chron.com, 14. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 15. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 16. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 17. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 18. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 21. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 22. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 23. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 24. www.marketbeat.com, 25. stockanalysis.com, 26. www.zacks.com, 27. public.com, 28. www.marketbeat.com, 29. intellectia.ai, 30. www.marketwatch.com, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 33. investors.centerpointenergy.com, 34. www.reuters.com
