Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,868 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $3,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CNP opened at $29.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $31.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 12.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CNP shares. StockNews.com raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.55.

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.