CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP Shares Bought by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 486,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,754 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $18,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $313,456,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 31.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,859,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $288,765,000 after buying an additional 1,886,374 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,609,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,135,000 after buying an additional 1,568,714 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,362,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,989,256,000 after buying an additional 1,301,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tredje AP fonden grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 1,953.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 1,010,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,114,000 after acquiring an additional 960,978 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Evercore ISI began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total value of $240,746.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $39.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.58. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.95 and a 1-year high of $40.50.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.