Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Has $154.35 Million Stock Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,402,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,476 shares during the period. CenterPoint Energy accounts for about 1.9% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $154,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 634.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CenterPoint Energy stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.19. 2,349,543 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,200,400. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.42 and a 1-year high of $31.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 10.55%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is 58.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CNP shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI cut shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and increased their price target for the company from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.18.

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.