CNPCenterPoint Energy
Is it safe?
Forensics clean, with a caveat: clean books and insiders buying, but heavy debt (BB).
Mixed, watch the balance sheet Altman Z-score, a bankruptcy-risk model from five balance-sheet ratios.
Reported earnings show no manipulation flags Beneish M-score, a forensic model that detects earnings-manipulation patterns (receivables outrunning sales, margins slipping, accrual-heavy profit).
Mixed fundamental signals Piotroski F-score, nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year financial health across profitability, balance sheet and efficiency. 7 to 9 is strong, 0 to 3 weak.
Insiders were net buyers (+$41K, 90 days to Oct 8, 2026). SEC Form 4 filings: officers and directors must report their own trades within two business days.
Moderately leveraged. A rule of thumb on leverage, not a credit rating.
Relatively steady, low volatility. Worst drawdown -60% · now 13% below its 52-week high.
Unless marked, from SEC EDGAR, as of Dec 31, 2025.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. Altman sits structurally low for utilities and pipelines; Beneish runs high for fast growers, since sales growth alone lifts it; banks and REITs are excluded.
Can CNP take a bad year?
CenterPoint Energy carries $21.3B of net debt at 5.74× EBITDA: a heavy load to carry through a bad year.
Net debt · as at Q1 2026 · over four years of earnings before interest, tax and depreciation, heavy
- Net debt / EBITDA
- 5.74×
Net debt / EBITDA · 5.48× a year ago · the load is going up
- Altman Z-score
- 0.88
Altman Z-score · distress zone, below 1.8
- Cash runway
- 0.5 years
Cash runway · burning $668M a quarter at the current rate
Details›
- Total debtQ1 2026
- $22.5B
- Cash and short-term investments
- $1.19B
- Net debt
- $21.3B
- EBITDA, trailing twelve months
- $3.71B
- Operating profit, trailing twelve months
- $2.12B
- Debt / equity
- 1.96×
- Total debt / EBITDA
- 6.06×
- Annualised volatilitytwo years of daily moves
- 18%
- Worst drawdown on file
- −60%
- Below its 52-week high
- 13%
Balance sheet from SEC filings; drawdown and volatility from end-of-day closes; Altman Z from the filed statements.
Utilities, Regulated Electric
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