Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,474,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 300,335 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $171,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CNP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $343,925,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,261,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $278,390,000 after buying an additional 1,728,865 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,722,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $296,096,000 after buying an additional 1,256,993 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 85.5% during the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 2,493,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,748,000 after buying an additional 1,149,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth $39,752,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CNP opened at $42.71 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a market cap of $27.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.46. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.46 and a 52-week high of $44.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.11.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 10.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore set a $45.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.62.

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.