PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Raises Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 105,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,761 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $3,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 73.1% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Guggenheim cut their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank cut their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.80.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $31.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.91. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.42 and a twelve month high of $31.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.34%.

Insider Transactions at CenterPoint Energy

In related news, Director Barry T. Smitherman sold 5,670 shares of CenterPoint Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $166,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $623,792.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.