CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Bought by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,534 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $2,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 25.7% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 19,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 19,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 60,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 20,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE CNP opened at $31.15 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $31.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 55.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CNP shares. KeyCorp cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.