CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Acquired by National Bank of Canada FI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. by 63.2%, acquiring an additional 308,631 shares, bringing its total holdings to 797,076 shares worth approximately $28.9 million.
• CenterPoint Energy reported a loss in earnings per share for the last quarter, with an EPS of $0.29 compared to analyst estimates of $0.44, and the company's revenue was also lower than expected.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.3%, scheduled for payment on September 11th.

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 63.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 797,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 308,631 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.12% of CenterPoint Energy worth $28,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNP. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 201.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho set a $39.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.38.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE CNP traded down $0.18 on Thursday, reaching $38.45. The company had a trading volume of 2,276,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,287,923. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.41 and a 1 year high of $39.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.97 and a 200-day moving average of $36.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 10.42%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

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.