CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP Shares Acquired by AdvisorNet Financial Inc

AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,103 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $2,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.6% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 5.2% in the second quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 7.0% in the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 2.2% during the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CenterPoint Energy

In other news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total value of $240,746.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 65,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,546,354.91. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $37.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.59 and a 52 week high of $40.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.09.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.04. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 55.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.64.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.