Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

CNP stock opened at $30.41 on Thursday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $31.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.20 and its 200-day moving average is $29.07. The firm has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.92.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.09.

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.