Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 65.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,740 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $1,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 95,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,611,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 6,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 48,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,319,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. First Allied Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 4.0% in the first quarter. First Allied Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 151.8% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 82.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of NYSE CNP opened at $17.49 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.23. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.58 and a 12 month high of $30.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.58, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.22. CenterPoint Energy had a negative net margin of 5.28% and a positive return on equity of 15.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.52%.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CNP shares. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 3rd. UBS Group cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.11.

In related news, Director David J. Lesar purchased 11,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $200,535.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,285.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company's Electric Transmission & Distribution segment offers electric transmission and distribution services to retail electric providers, municipalities, electric cooperatives, and other distribution companies.

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