Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 1,950 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $2,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in 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 during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 25.7% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.0 %

CNP stock opened at $32.40 on Tuesday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $33.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a PEG 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 issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 58.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.