Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Makes New Investment in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC disclosed a new first-quarter position in CenterPoint Energy, buying 174,100 shares valued at about $7.5 million.
• Other institutional investors also adjusted their stakes, and hedge funds/institutions now own 91.77% of the utility company’s stock.
• CenterPoint Energy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share from $0.23, while analysts currently have a Hold consensus with a price target of $45.38.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 174,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,514,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.38.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CNP opened at $44.22 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.28. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.59 and a 52 week high of $45.22. The stock has a market cap of $28.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.16.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 10.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is 56.44%.

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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