Quest Partners LLC Grows Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 3,469,900.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 34,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,699 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $1,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter worth $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNP. Scotiabank lifted their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock 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 reduced their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America initiated 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. StockNews.com cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.09.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNP traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $31.64. 914,956 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,342,410. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.13. The company has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.41 and a 1 year high of $31.68.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is presently 52.98%.

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.