Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 878 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE CNP opened at $33.71 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.75. The company has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $34.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.65.

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.