Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Increases Stock Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 293,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 17,101 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $10,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 45,573,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,446,036,000 after purchasing an additional 27,799,744 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $164,350,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $158,232,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1,431.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,408,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $108,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,932 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,348,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNP traded down $0.77 on Wednesday, reaching $35.75. 5,284,873 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,665,841. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.16 and a 200-day moving average of $35.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.58. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $39.31.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is currently 59.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Argus raised CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.04.

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.