Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $60.68 Million Stock Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,563,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,430 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $60,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. MGO One Seven LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $254,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth $490,000. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter valued at $444,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 74,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,894,000 after acquiring an additional 18,213 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 1.1%

CNP stock opened at $39.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.38. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.58 and a 1-year high of $40.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.34.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 58.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total transaction of $240,746.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 65,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,546,354.91. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNP has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Evercore ISI began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.73.

CenterPoint Energy Profile

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.