CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP Stock: Peak Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake

Peak Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,731 shares during the quarter. CenterPoint Energy accounts for approximately 1.7% of Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $4,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter worth about $770,871,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $332,753,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $250,273,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $176,574,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $163,893,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CNP. Mizuho set a $43.00 target price on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.29.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CNP opened at $42.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.47. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.37 and a 1 year high of $45.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.53.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 11.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 54.86%.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc is a public utility holding company that provides electric and natural gas energy services in the United States. Its operations include electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, and related infrastructure services for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

The company is the primary electric delivery utility for the Houston, Texas, area and operates electric and natural gas businesses in several states, including Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, and Mississippi.