Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Invests $25.99 Million in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors bought 590,100 shares of CenterPoint Energy worth approximately $25.99 million, representing a 0.09% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 91.77% of the company.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on CNP, with an average price target of $45.43, compared with the reported share price of $40.20.
• CenterPoint exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.40 EPS versus the $0.37 consensus estimate, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share, or a 2.4% annualized yield.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 590,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,988,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of CenterPoint Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,941,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $802,916,000 after purchasing an additional 235,346 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,834,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 962,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,907,000 after acquiring an additional 61,740 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,595,867 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,186,000 after buying an additional 781,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,367,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,976,000 after acquiring an additional 67,037 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CNP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.43.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $40.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.60 and a 1-year high of $45.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.47%.

CenterPoint Energy 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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