CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Acquired by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 103,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,866 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $3,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CNP opened at $36.53 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $36.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.63. The company has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $39.31.

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

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock 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 research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upgraded CenterPoint Energy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.79.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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.