Holocene Advisors LP Invests $6.81 Million in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 231,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,806,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 459.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CNP. StockNews.com cut CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.58.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $32.31. 3,068,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,307,664. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $33.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is presently 55.63%.

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.