Bridgewater Associates LP Takes $7.06 Million Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 240,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,062,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth about $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.0 %

CNP stock opened at $32.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.25. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $32.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 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 previous 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 55.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

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.