Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Has $154.35 Million Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,402,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,476 shares during the period. CenterPoint Energy comprises approximately 1.9% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.86% of CenterPoint Energy worth $154,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 52,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 40,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.19. 2,349,543 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,200,400. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.07 and a 200-day moving average of $28.03. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $25.42 and a one year high of $31.43. The firm has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 10.55%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is 58.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.18.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.