Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 728.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 242,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 213,541 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $9,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter worth $33,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CenterPoint Energy

In related news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total transaction of $240,746.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 65,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,546,354.91. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.64.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE CNP opened at $37.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.10 and a 200-day moving average of $38.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.56. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.59 and a 12 month high of $40.50.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 10.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.