Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 23.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 307,560 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 58,316 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $9,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,429,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,376,240. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $28.97 and a 200-day moving average of $29.03. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $31.57. The stock has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.92.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CenterPoint Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.09.

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.