HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 24.7%, acquiring an additional 19,908 shares, bringing its total holdings to 100,485 shares valued at approximately $3.64 million.
• Wall Street analysts have shown mixed sentiment towards CenterPoint Energy, with target prices ranging from $34.00 to $42.00 and an average rating of "Hold" with a price target of $37.38.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $0.88 and a yield of 2.3%, with a payout ratio currently at 61.54%.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 24.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,485 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,908 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $3,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BROOKFIELD Corp ON bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $164,350,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $92,025,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 58.4% during the first quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 4,385,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $158,891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616,181 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,281,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,790,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CNP traded up $0.0340 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.0340. The stock had a trading volume of 5,607,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,139,331. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $37.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $26.32 and a one year high of $39.39. The company has a market capitalization of $24.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.58.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 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 firm 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 company earned $0.36 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.740-1.760 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNP has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho set a $39.00 price objective on CenterPoint Energy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. 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 research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.38.

CenterPoint Energy Profile

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.