Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP – Free Report) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 433,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,029 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.07% of CenterPoint Energy worth $12,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 302.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 159,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,565,000 after purchasing an additional 120,085 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,209,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,559,000 after acquiring an additional 256,820 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 312.6% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 114,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 86,613 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $399,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,540,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,361,000 after purchasing an additional 420,010 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 2.6 %
Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $30.51 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.44. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.91. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.42 and a 12-month high of $31.43.
CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 56.34%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.73.
Get Our Latest Analysis on CNP
Insider Transactions at CenterPoint Energy
In related news, Director Barry T. Smitherman sold 5,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $166,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $623,792.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
CenterPoint Energy Profile
CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market.
Further Reading
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