Entropy Technologies LP Makes New Investment in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 66,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,969,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

NYSE CNP traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.35. The company had a trading volume of 3,416,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,368,405. The company has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.06. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $31.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.09.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.