Ascent Group LLC Takes $241,000 Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has purchased 6,653 shares in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP), valued at approximately $241,000, during the first quarter of the fiscal year.
• The company recently reported earnings per share of $0.29 for the last quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.44.
• CenterPoint Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.88 and a yield of 2.3%.

Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,061,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,900,612,000 after purchasing an additional 671,868 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,611 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $215,011,000 after purchasing an additional 54,596 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,408,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $195,938,000 after purchasing an additional 42,536 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,118,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $185,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 4,385,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $158,891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616,181 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock traded up $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $38.19. 1,970,119 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,178,382. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.96. The company has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.58. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $27.92 and a one year high of $39.39.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 10.42%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.740-1.760 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $38.00 price objective on CenterPoint Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.50.

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.