87,162 Shares in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Acquired by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 87,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,564,000.

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

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $30.86 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $31.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average price is $29.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.09.

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. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business posted $0.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNP has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CenterPoint Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.