First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Increases Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 65.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,041 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 634.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $175,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $29.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.42 and a 52 week high of $31.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.09.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is 56.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Barry T. Smitherman sold 5,670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $166,811.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $623,792.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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.