17,731 CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP Shares Bought by Peak Financial Advisors LLC

Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 19.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 108,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,731 shares during the period. CenterPoint Energy comprises approximately 1.7% of Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $4,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $770,871,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $332,753,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $250,273,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $176,574,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $163,893,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Mizuho set a $43.00 target price on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.29.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $42.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.37 and a 1 year high of $45.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.53. The stock has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.47.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.86%.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc is a public utility holding company that provides electric and natural gas energy services in the United States. Its operations include electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, and related infrastructure services for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

The company is the primary electric delivery utility for the Houston, Texas, area and operates electric and natural gas businesses in several states, including Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, and Mississippi.