American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 568,130 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,115,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 568,130 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.94% of CenterPoint Energy worth $237,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 13,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 5.9% during the third quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 107.9% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $43.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.59. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.24 and a 12-month high of $43.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.14.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 10.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900- EPS. Research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNP. KeyCorp upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Mizuho set a $44.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

CenterPoint Energy Profile

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.