ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Invests $1.79 Million in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired 49,320 shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. for approximately $1,787,000 during the first quarter.
• CenterPoint Energy's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.29, missing estimates of $0.44, with a revenue of $1.94 billion compared to expectations of $2.20 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing a 2.3% dividend yield for stockholders of record on August 21st.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 49,320 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,787,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 8.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 80,229 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 6,377 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 8.8% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,913 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 3.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 864,175 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,309,000 after purchasing an additional 26,153 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,314,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,427,000 after purchasing an additional 569,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 5.6% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 166,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CNP traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.40. The company had a trading volume of 927,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,297,403. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $39.39. The firm has a market cap of $25.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. The business's 50 day moving average price is $36.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.15). CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 9.16%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho set a $39.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.38.

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.