CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Purchased by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,449,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 334,631 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned 13.42% of CenterPoint Energy worth $2,774,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:CNP traded down $0.41 on Wednesday, reaching $36.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,902,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,546,090. The company has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.65. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $37.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm's fifty day moving average is $35.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.73.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. Equities analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is currently 55.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNP. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.04.

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.