Ariel Investments LLC Takes Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Ariel Investments LLC acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,458,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,281,000. Ariel Investments LLC owned 0.22% of CenterPoint Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 24,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $783,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,849,000. Utah Retirement Systems increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 107,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,880,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $186,573,000 after buying an additional 431,260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CNP opened at $38.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.07 and a 200 day moving average of $33.19. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $39.18.

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

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.79.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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.