CenterPoint Energy (CNP) to Post Q3 Earnings: What's in Store?
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. CNP is slated to report third-quarter 2023 results on Oct 26, before the opening bell.
In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a negative earnings surprise of 3.45%. CNP has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 0.13%.
Factors to Note
The majority of the company’s service territories experienced above-normal warm temperature patterns for most of the third quarter, with record-breaking heat during September. Such a weather pattern is expected to have boosted electricity demand for cooling purposes in the spring. This, in turn, might have contributed favorably to CenterPoint Energy’s top-line performance in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. price-eps-surprise | CenterPoint Energy, Inc. Quote
Moreover, favorable rate hikes, along with customer growth observed in the prior quarters, are likely to have boosted the company’s revenues.
However, an adverse weather pattern including strong winds, a few tornados along with tropical storm Harold affected an extensive part of CNP’s service territories during the third quarter. This might have disrupted the company’s services in those areas, which, in turn, is likely to have resulted in outages for its customers. CNP’s overall revenues might have been partly impacted due to these outages.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CenterPoint Energy’s third-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.91 billion, indicating a 0.4% increase from the prior-year quarter’s recorded figure.
The severe weather conditions, as mentioned above, might have caused some structural damage to the company, thereby increasing its quarterly restoration costs. This, in turn, is likely to have hurt CNP’s third-quarter earnings. Moreover, the rising interest rate expense on short-term borrowings might have also had an adverse impact on the company’s earnings.
Nevertheless, tax benefits, operational improvements and rising electricity demand might have outweighed the aforementioned impacts on CenterPoint Energy’s overall bottom-line performance.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings is pegged at 37 cents per share, implying a 15.6% year-over-year improvement.
What the Zacks Model Unveils
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for CenterPoint Energy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. However, that is not the case here as you will see below.
Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -0.67%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: CNP carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Stocks to Consider
Here are three Utility players that you may want to consider as these have the right combination of elements to come up with an earnings beat this reporting cycle.
Entergy ETR has an Earnings ESP of +0.85% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The company delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 3.41%.
Entergy boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ETR’s third-quarter earnings and sales is pegged at $2.99 per share and $4.05 billion, respectively.
NiSource NI has an Earnings ESP of +18.52% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings is pegged at 14 cents per share, implying a 40% increase from that reported in the prior-year quarter.
The consensus mark for NI’s sales is pinned at $1.06 billion. The company has a four-quarter average negative earnings surprise of 5.61%.
Sempra Energy SRE has an Earnings ESP of +1.84% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The consensus estimate for third-quarter earnings is pinned at $1 per share, indicating a 1% increase year over year.
Sempra Energy boasts a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 9.81%. The consensus mark for SRE’s third-quarter sales is pegged at $3.82 billion, indicating growth of 5.6% from that recorded in the prior-year quarter.
Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
NiSource, Inc (NI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Sempra Energy (SRE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Entergy Corporation (ETR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
