CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Purchased by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,177,364 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 65,139 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.49% of CenterPoint Energy worth $93,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 113,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,345,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 3.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 124,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,653,000 after buying an additional 4,663 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter valued at $7,062,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 9,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:CNP traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $32.14. 3,865,437 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,317,274. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $33.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.28. The company has a market capitalization of $20.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.96. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is presently 55.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNP. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised CenterPoint Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.58.

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.