This week I'm seeking the one and only dividend-paying stock from the utilities business sector for my Ivy portfolio. 

That utilities sector has five industries including diversified, independent, regulated electric, regulated gas, and regulated water. 

Today I'm reviewing a Large-cap regulated gas company, named CenterPoint Energy Inc. Its trading ticker symbol is CNP.

CenterPoint Energy Inc owns and operates a portfolio of energy-related businesses. The company primarily provides transmission and distribution services and has natural gas distribution systems in the United States.

However, it also supplies electric energy. As of December 31, 2017, this segment owned 28,883 pole miles of overhead distribution lines and 24,662 circuit miles of underground distribution lines; and 235 substations with a transformer capacity of 64,924 megavolt amperes, as well as operated 14 regional service centers. 

Its Natural Gas Distribution segment sells regulated intrastate natural gas; provides natural gas transportation and storage services for residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation customers; and offers unregulated services comprising residential appliance repair and maintenance services. As of December 31, 2017, this segment owned approximately 75,000 linear miles of natural gas distribution mains. 

The company's Energy Services segment provides physical natural gas supplies primarily to commercial and industrial customers, and electric and natural gas utilities; natural gas management services; and physical delivery services, as well as procures and optimizes transportation and storage assets. This segment owns and operates approximately 200 miles of intrastate pipelines; and leases transportation capacity on various interstate and intrastate pipelines, and storage. 

Its Midstream Investments segment offers natural gas and crude oil gathering, and natural gas processing services to its producer customers; and interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline transportation and storage services to its producer, power plant, local distribution company, and industrial end-user customers. 

The company was founded in 1882 and is based in Houston, Texas.

I use three key data points to gauge the value of any dividend equity or fund like CenterPoint Energy Inc: 

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Besides those three, four more keys  will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest.

But those first three primary keys, best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money. 

CNP Price

CenterPoint's price per share was $27.46 at yesterday's market close. A year ago its price was $29.95 for a price drop of $2.49 per share for the year, that's an  8.3% tumble. 

Assuming CenterPoint's price will trade in the range of $24 to $32 next year, CNP's recent $27.46 price could improve by $4.00 and grow to $31.46 by mid-November, 2019. 

CNP Dividends

CenterPoint's most recent quarterly dividend was $0.2775 declared October 23rd and payable December 13th. 

That $.2775 quarterly stipend equates to an annual dividend of $1.11 yielding 4% at yesterday's closing $27.46 price.

Gains For CNP?

Adding the $1.11 calculated annual dividend to my estimated $4.00 annual price upside for CenterPoint Energy Inc makes a $5.11 potential gross annual per share gain, which will be reduced by costs to trade the shares.  

 A little under $1,000.00 invested today at the $27.46 recent price buys 36 CenterPoint shares. 

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale costs $0.28 per share

Subtracting that $0.28 brokerage cost from the estimated $5.11 gross annual gain leaves a net gain of $4.83 X 36 shares 

= $173.88

for a 17.4% net gain on a $988.56 investment.

Therefore, CenterPoint Energy Inc, whose trading ticker symbol is CNP, now shows a possible 17.4% net gain including a 4% dividend yield. 

Sixteen brokers cover this stock:

Three brokers say "buy" CNP

Two brokers say CNP will "outperform" its peers.

Eleven say "hold" your CNP shares.

Those sixteen Wall Street wizards collectively price CNP shares at $30 next November. That's $1.46 under my $31.46 estimate.

Therefore, you may look at these speculative numbers as follows: CenterPoint Energy Inc whose trading ticker symbol is CNP has made money, is making money, and could net a 12.4% to a 17.4% net annual gain including a 4% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less. 

The above speculation is based on past year performance. The actual results remain to be seen to determine if CenterPoint Energy Inc is worth your time and money.