CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP)

Market price: $41.59

6 valuation methods

How each method works

Dividend Discount Model (DDM): $17.91 to $28.09 (midpoint $21.88)

Values the stock as the present value of its expected dividend stream — fitting for stable, dividend-anchored payers like banks, insurers, and utilities.

How it’s calculated
We take the company's dividend and grow it in three stages: three years at the rate its own retained earnings can support (the share of profit it keeps, multiplied by the return it earns on equity), then a seven-year glide down to a long-run rate, and that rate for ever after. The whole stream is discounted back to today at the company's cost of equity. The range comes from flexing that cost of equity.
Why it fits this industry
Regulated utilities pay steady, slowly-growing dividends by design — the classic case for valuing the dividend stream directly.
Reading this bar
The bar is the per-share value range this method implies: a conservative low, a central estimate, and an optimistic high. If the current price sits below the bar, the market is pricing the shares below what this method's inputs suggest; if it sits above, the market is pricing them higher. No single bar is a verdict — methods disagree for good reasons, so read the whole field together. This bar values only the cash actually paid out. A company that keeps most of its profit is building value the dividend stream does not capture, so its DDM bar tends to sit below the price — the pattern is strongest where the payout ratio is lowest. It is one anchor among several, and for a low payer the earnings-based bars carry more of the story. The long-run rate is the same one the discounted-cash-flow bar uses, so the two do not assume different futures for the same company.

DDM: D₀ 0.89 grown at 4.30% a year for 3y, then eased to 2.50% over 7y and held there, discounted at Ke 7.10%±1.00% => per-share 17.91/21.88/28.09

P / E: $29.20 to $38.99 (midpoint $35.46)

Values the stock at a peer multiple of its earnings per share — the most familiar gauge for steadily profitable companies.

How it’s calculated
We take the company's net earnings per share over the last twelve months and multiply them by the range of price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples its peers trade at.
Why it fits this industry
For steadily profitable companies, earnings are the bottom line an owner is entitled to — P/E is the most familiar way to ask what the market pays for a dollar of profit.
Reading this bar
The bar is the per-share value range this method implies: a conservative low, a central estimate, and an optimistic high. If the current price sits below the bar, the market is pricing the shares below what this method's inputs suggest; if it sits above, the market is pricing them higher. No single bar is a verdict — methods disagree for good reasons, so read the whole field together. One unusually strong or weak year can swing a P/E — the inputs panel shows the earnings the bar is built on.

P / E = (17.83/21.66/23.82)× eps 1.64 ≈ 29.20/35.46/38.99 (per_share)

P / B: $31.40 to $49.83 (midpoint $37.12)

Values the stock at a peer multiple of its book (net asset) value — most meaningful for asset-heavy and financial companies whose balance sheet drives value.

How it’s calculated
We take book value per share (total assets minus total liabilities, from the latest balance sheet, divided by shares outstanding) and multiply it by the range of price-to-book multiples the peer group trades at.
Why it fits this industry
Where the balance sheet is the business — lenders, insurers, asset-heavy operators — the price the market pays for a dollar of net assets is a natural yardstick.
Reading this bar
The bar is the per-share value range this method implies: a conservative low, a central estimate, and an optimistic high. If the current price sits below the bar, the market is pricing the shares below what this method's inputs suggest; if it sits above, the market is pricing them higher. No single bar is a verdict — methods disagree for good reasons, so read the whole field together. Asset-light companies (brands, software) legitimately trade far above book value, so for them a P/B bar well below the price is usually structure, not signal.

P / B = (1.79/2.12/2.85)× book_value_per_share 17.50 ≈ 31.40/37.12/49.83 (per_share)

EV / EBITDA: $32.04 to $49.86 (midpoint $40.03)

Values the whole business at a peer multiple of its cash operating earnings (EBITDA) — the workhorse comparison for capital-intensive, profitable companies.

How it’s calculated
We take the company's cash operating earnings over the last twelve months (EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and multiply them by the range of EV/EBITDA multiples comparable companies currently trade at. That gives a value for the whole business (enterprise value); we then subtract net debt and anything owed ahead of common shareholders — minority interests in subsidiaries and preferred stock — and divide by shares outstanding to get a per-share range.
Why it fits this industry
EBITDA strips out financing and accounting choices, so two companies with different debt loads or depreciation schedules can be compared on the cash their operations actually generate.
Reading this bar
The bar is the per-share value range this method implies: a conservative low, a central estimate, and an optimistic high. If the current price sits below the bar, the market is pricing the shares below what this method's inputs suggest; if it sits above, the market is pricing them higher. No single bar is a verdict — methods disagree for good reasons, so read the whole field together. A company can also deserve a multiple above or below its peers — faster growth, stronger margins, or higher risk all justify honest gaps.

EV / EBITDA = (11.96/13.37/15.10)× ebitda 3,709,000,000 ≈ 44,359,430,466.58/49,584,582,207.37/56,012,618,420.32 (enterprise_value); enterprise_value -> per share: equity (20,962,430,466.58/26,187,582,207.37/32,615,618,420.32) / 654,169,480 shares [EV bridge: minus net debt 23,397,000,000]

EV / Revenue: $32.13 to $49.41 (midpoint $41.05)

Values the whole business at a peer multiple of sales — used when earnings are thin, volatile, or not yet meaningful, so revenue is the most reliable yardstick.

How it’s calculated
We multiply the company's last-twelve-month revenue by the range of EV/Revenue multiples its peer group trades at, subtract net debt and any minority interests or preferred stock ranking ahead of common shareholders, and divide by shares outstanding for a per-share range.
Why it fits this industry
When profits are thin, volatile, or still to come, revenue is the most dependable figure a company reports — this method values the business on the scale of what it actually sells.
Reading this bar
The bar is the per-share value range this method implies: a conservative low, a central estimate, and an optimistic high. If the current price sits below the bar, the market is pricing the shares below what this method's inputs suggest; if it sits above, the market is pricing them higher. No single bar is a verdict — methods disagree for good reasons, so read the whole field together. A pound of revenue is worth more at a high margin than a low one, so the peer group here is narrowed to companies earning a similar margin wherever enough of them exist. Where too few do, the bar falls back to the wider group and is the bluntest of the multiples — weigh it alongside the earnings-based bars.

EV / Revenue = (4.72/5.34/5.92)× revenue 9,412,000,000 ≈ 44,412,411,604.11/50,251,141,551.05/55,720,682,460.35 (enterprise_value); enterprise_value -> per share: equity (21,015,411,604.11/26,854,141,551.05/32,323,682,460.35) / 654,169,480 shares [EV bridge: minus net debt 23,397,000,000]

EV / Gross Profit: $80.32 to $116.48 (midpoint $85.68)

Values the business at a peer multiple of gross profit — useful where reported operating costs vary a lot across peers but gross economics are comparable.

How it’s calculated
We take last-twelve-month gross profit (revenue minus the direct cost of the goods or services sold), multiply it by the peer range of EV/Gross-Profit multiples, subtract net debt and any minority interests or preferred stock ranking ahead of common shareholders, and divide by shares outstanding.
Why it fits this industry
Gross profit sits between revenue and operating earnings: it credits the margin a company's products earn while ignoring overhead and investment choices that legitimately differ across peers.
Reading this bar
The bar is the per-share value range this method implies: a conservative low, a central estimate, and an optimistic high. If the current price sits below the bar, the market is pricing the shares below what this method's inputs suggest; if it sits above, the market is pricing them higher. No single bar is a verdict — methods disagree for good reasons, so read the whole field together.

EV / Gross Profit = (8.07/8.44/10.59)× gross_profit 9,408,000,000 ≈ 75,940,435,988.38/79,449,496,028.51/99,597,831,237.40 (enterprise_value); enterprise_value -> per share: equity (52,543,435,988.38/56,052,496,028.51/76,200,831,237.40) / 654,169,480 shares [EV bridge: minus net debt 23,397,000,000]

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