CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP Stock Position Increased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 26.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 252,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,326 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $9,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 486,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,878,000 after acquiring an additional 15,754 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 15.4% during the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 7,220,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,146,000 after purchasing an additional 962,910 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 23.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 171,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,636,000 after purchasing an additional 32,344 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 31.1% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 350,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,611,000 after purchasing an additional 83,127 shares during the period. Finally, OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.5%

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $41.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.59. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.63 and a 1 year high of $42.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.51.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis 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 of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 55.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.