CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Declares $0.22 Quarterly Dividend

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 17th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st.

CenterPoint Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 46.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CenterPoint Energy to earn $1.87 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.1%.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 2.1%

CNP stock traded up $0.77 on Friday, reaching $37.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,777,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,526,803. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.35. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $39.31. The firm has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.93.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 9.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CNP shares. Wall Street Zen lowered CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus raised CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 55,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 15,922 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 76,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,757,000 after acquiring an additional 10,277 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 69,683 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,525,000 after acquiring an additional 3,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,411 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

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.