CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP Shares Bought by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 45.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,527 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $4,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Profund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 34,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,324,000 after buying an additional 1,311 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 168,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 32.1% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 89.2% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 22,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 10,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 1.5%

CNP stock opened at $41.65 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.63 and a 52 week high of $42.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.59.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. KeyCorp raised 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 report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.82.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.