Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Grows Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,984 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,114 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $8,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,484,528 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,104,000 after purchasing an additional 42,578 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,564,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth $908,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,898,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,863,000 after acquiring an additional 24,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth $265,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $32.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,755,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,852,160. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.05 and a 200 day moving average of $30.01. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $33.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.95.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CNP shares. Scotiabank upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lowered CenterPoint Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $34.50 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.46.

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.