Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 22.8% in the first quarter, adding 46,807 shares and bringing its total to 251,882 shares worth about $10.9 million.
• CenterPoint Energy recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share from $0.23, implying an annualized dividend of $0.96 and a yield of about 2.2%.
• The stock has mixed analyst support: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $45.31, while the company also reported Q1 earnings of $0.56 per share, slightly below estimates.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 251,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,807 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $10,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 165.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 734 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.31.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE CNP opened at $43.29 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.94 and a 52 week high of $45.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $42.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.11. The firm has a market cap of $28.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.46.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.44%.

About CenterPoint Energy

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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