Blueshift Asset Management LLC Invests $589,000 in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC has made a new investment of approximately $589,000, acquiring 16,244 shares in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) during the 1st quarter, as reported in their recent 13F filing.
• Analysts have mixed views on CenterPoint Energy, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and varied price targets, including an upgrade from Evercore ISI to $41.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, which will be paid on September 11th, reflecting an annual yield of 2.3%.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the first quarter valued at $25,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 201.5% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CNP shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. One 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.38.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of CNP stock traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $39.17. 3,411,704 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,972,921. The firm has a market cap of $25.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company's 50 day moving average is $36.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.85. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.41 and a 1 year high of $39.34.

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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

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.