CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Bought by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,839 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $1,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $437,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 19,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $32.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.11. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $25.41 and a one year high of $33.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.81.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CNP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.46.

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.