Ariel Investments LLC Takes $46.28 Million Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Ariel Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,458,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,281,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNP opened at $38.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.07 and a 200 day moving average of $33.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.65. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $39.18.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CNP shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.79.

CenterPoint Energy Profile

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.