Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $36.91 Million Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 962,624 shares worth about $36.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 91.77% of CenterPoint Energy stock held by institutions and hedge funds, and several other firms also recently increased their positions.
• Analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy overall, with an average price target of $44.38, while CenterPoint also recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 962,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 61,740 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of CenterPoint Energy worth $36,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CNP. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,261,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $278,390,000 after buying an additional 1,728,865 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,722,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $296,096,000 after buying an additional 1,256,993 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 85.5% during the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 2,493,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $96,748,000 after buying an additional 1,149,637 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 15.4% during the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 7,220,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $280,146,000 after buying an additional 962,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth $35,993,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho set a $44.00 price objective on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.38.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CNP opened at $41.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $43.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.69. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.46 and a 12 month high of $44.47.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 11.38%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is 56.44%.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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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