Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Invests $258,000 in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 87,449,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,774,941,000 after purchasing an additional 334,631 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 46,645,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,480,060,000 after buying an additional 1,922,169 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 45,573,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,446,036,000 after buying an additional 27,799,744 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,490,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $490,205,000 after acquiring an additional 406,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,880,015 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $186,573,000 after acquiring an additional 431,260 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:CNP traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.53. 6,163,817 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,550,555. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $39.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.53.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CNP shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.79.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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.