DnB Asset Management AS Buys 21,015 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 342,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,015 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $10,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 1,158.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,062,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 124,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,653,000 after purchasing an additional 4,663 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 113,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,345,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,177,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,478,000 after purchasing an additional 65,139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNP opened at $36.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $36.40.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.40. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. As a group, analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lowered CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.77.

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.