NBC Securities Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 658,128.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 92,138 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 782 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.5%

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $37.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.33. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $39.31.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Argus raised CenterPoint Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.04.

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.