GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 53.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,983 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 80.8% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE:CNP opened at $31.04 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $31.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.55. The company has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.95. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $33.00.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. 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. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CNP shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.27.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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.