97,099 Shares in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Acquired by Imprint Wealth LLC

Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 97,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,710,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 137.5% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 88.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CNP shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. TheStreet lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.10.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CNP stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.46. 709,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,071,106. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.42 and a 52 week high of $31.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.78.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 10.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 64.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jason P. Wells purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.91 per share, for a total transaction of $269,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,119.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other CenterPoint Energy news, COO Jason P. Wells bought 10,000 shares of CenterPoint Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.91 per share, with a total value of $269,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,119.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David J. Lesar purchased 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.12 per share, with a total value of $1,003,440.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,003,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through Electric and Natural Gas segments. 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.