Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 35,403 CenterPoint Energy shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.56 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 91.77% of CNP.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with nine Buy ratings and eight Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $45.36.
• CenterPoint exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.40 EPS versus the $0.37 estimate, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share, equivalent to a 2.4% annual yield.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 35,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,559,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at $770,871,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $343,925,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth about $332,753,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,794,535 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $250,273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CNP shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. KeyCorp decreased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.36.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CNP opened at $39.94 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $36.60 and a one year high of $45.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.54. The stock has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business earned $0.29 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. 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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