56,106 Shares in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Acquired by Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 56,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,033,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.7% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 13,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 4,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.0%

CNP traded up $0.35 on Thursday, reaching $36.38. 8,023,373 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,667,161. The company's 50 day moving average is $37.25 and its 200-day moving average is $34.59. The company has a market cap of $23.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.59. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve 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.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Argus upgraded CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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 report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.04.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.