Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,563,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 38,430 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of CenterPoint Energy worth $60,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $313,456,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,859,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $288,765,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,374 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3,842.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,609,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,135,000 after buying an additional 1,568,714 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,362,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,989,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301,374 shares during the period. Finally, Tredje AP fonden lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1,953.5% during the second quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 1,010,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,114,000 after purchasing an additional 960,978 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $39.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.58 and a 1 year high of $40.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 10.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 58.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CNP. BMO Capital Markets upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at CenterPoint Energy

In other news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total transaction of $240,746.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 65,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,546,354.91. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.