CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Position Boosted by Reaves W H & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 58.4% in Q1, now holding approximately $158.89 million in shares, making it the 7th largest position in their portfolio.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their target prices for CenterPoint Energy, with BMO Capital Markets raising it to $39.00 while Evercore ISI now projects a target of $41.00.
• CenterPoint Energy reported an EPS of $0.29 for the last quarter, falling short of analysts’ expectations, with revenues at $1.94 billion compared to the estimated $2.20 billion.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 58.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,385,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,616,181 shares during the period. CenterPoint Energy accounts for approximately 4.0% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned 0.67% of CenterPoint Energy worth $158,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth $254,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 157,052 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 8,134 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth $227,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 28,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,889 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays increased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Mizuho set a $39.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.38.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.1%

CNP stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.83. 3,475,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,931,592. The stock has a market cap of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $39.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $36.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.02.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 9.16%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is 61.54%.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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.