Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes $7.51 Million Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 204,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.9% in the second quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 17.8% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in CenterPoint Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 9,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

NYSE CNP opened at $39.58 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 12 month low of $29.96 and a 12 month high of $40.50. The stock has a market cap of $25.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.88.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.70%.

Insider Activity at CenterPoint Energy

In other news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total value of $240,746.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,546,354.91. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.50.

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.