LPL Financial LLC Increases Stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 221,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,921 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $6,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinebridge Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 127.9% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 176.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 137.5% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. 88.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:CNP opened at $27.93 on Thursday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.03 and a 12-month high of $33.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.24. The firm has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.88.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 9.71%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $33.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 6th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Mizuho lowered CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.10.

CenterPoint Energy Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through Electric and Natural Gas segments. 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.