CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Acquired by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 723,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 130,749 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $20,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 634.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 44.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $175,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CenterPoint Energy

In other CenterPoint Energy news, Director Barry T. Smitherman sold 5,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CNP opened at $29.79 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.42 and a 1 year high of $31.43. The stock has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.13.

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

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNP has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered CenterPoint Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.18.

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.