UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 65,139 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,177,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,139 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $93,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at $43,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.00.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CNP opened at $32.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.14 and a 200-day moving average of $29.27. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $32.86. The stock has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.92.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.63%.

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.