CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 72.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 382,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,461 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $12,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.65.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP stock opened at $34.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $34.44.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. Equities research analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.35%.

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.