CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP Stock: Sterling Capital Management LLC Boosts Position

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 122.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,612 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $1,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter worth $27,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter worth $38,000. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore set a $43.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Monday, August 17th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. HSBC started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.24.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CNP stock opened at $41.12 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.37 and a 12-month high of $45.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.47.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 11.61%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.47%.

CenterPoint Energy Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc is a public utility holding company that provides electric and natural gas energy services in the United States. Its operations include electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, and related infrastructure services for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

The company is the primary electric delivery utility for the Houston, Texas, area and operates electric and natural gas businesses in several states, including Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, and Mississippi.