Forsta AP Fonden Increases Stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $3,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNP. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 32.7% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 79,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,475,000 after buying an additional 19,686 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $948,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 8.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 132,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,906,000 after purchasing an additional 10,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 43.8% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 12,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CNP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.46.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE CNP opened at $32.55 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $33.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.81.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.63%.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.