Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $151.12 Million Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,171,092 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 54,506 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.64% of CenterPoint Energy worth $151,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNP. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 21.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 17.8% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 5.5% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CNP traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $38.45. 2,276,220 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,287,923. The business's fifty day moving average is $36.97 and its 200 day moving average is $36.15. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $39.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be 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 is Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on CNP shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.38.

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.