Andra AP fonden Purchases Shares of 103,900 CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Key Points

• Andra AP fonden bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter, acquiring 103,900 shares valued at about $4.48 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 91.77% of the utility’s stock. Several large investors, including Vanguard and T. Rowe Price, also increased their stakes recently.
• CenterPoint Energy recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share, and analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $45.46.

Andra AP fonden purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 103,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,484,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,381,128 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,158,492,000 after acquiring an additional 719,803 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 58,286,690 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,234,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,794,535 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,941,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $802,916,000 after purchasing an additional 235,346 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,023,720 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $650,189,000 after purchasing an additional 166,305 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $343,925,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.46.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $43.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.24. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.59 and a 12 month high of $45.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 11.38%.The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is currently 56.44%.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc NYSE: CNP is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company's principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint's core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.

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